He along with Eric Ebron will need to step up against the Kansas City Chiefs if the Lions are going to get that second win.
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Quarterback Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and went over with a rushing touchdown of his own. There are, in fact, at least nine National Football League teams (ten if Dallas loses to Seattle in a game that is being played as I type this) with less wins than Kansas City.
The Patriots put up 45 against the St. Louis Rams back on October 28, 2012.
Following a tough 1-5 start, Andy Reid’s team has rebounded with victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers (23-13) and Detroit Lions (45-10) – the latter coming on Sunday afternoon overseas (morning in the Eastern time zone). But Smith said he used part of the flight to watch game film on an iPad, while safety Eric Berry said there was plenty of clowning and joking among teammates. The picks came in the first half in a span of three plays. “Our offensive and defensive lines dominated the game and set the tone from the start”.
And then there was Smith’s running performance, which he clearly enjoyed. “I was able to get up, get clear looks and a lot of backs turned to me”.
Jim Caldwell fired coordinator Joe Lombardi and line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan on Monday, hours before the team made its transatlantic flight to England, in the hopes of jump-starting an offense getting far too little production of its best players. In is Jim Bob Cooter, who has never called plays in the NFL. And the Lions still couldn’t get spectacular star wide receiver Calvin Johnson into the game. The Chiefs went on to score their only touchdown of the quarter. But then it quickly got messy. De’Anthony Thomas ran for a 10-yard touchdown for the first of many touchdowns on the day for KC on a perfectly executed sweep. But the Lions again could not stop the Chiefs and this time it was Charcandrick West who ran in for an eight-yard touchdown. It could very well end up in the same sort of meltdown that occurred past year in London with the Detroit Lions.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered seven sacks in Week 7, and the Chiefs inflicted six more Sunday. But he insisted that everyone on Detroit’s offence needed to improve. Stafford said the huge lead was a dream situation for the defense. “Not every one of those sacks is one the guys up front”. “I thought today was good”. Our guys in the backfield can protect better. “Sacks are all a team thing on offense”.
Player of the game: Quarterback Alex Smith did an excellent job dancing away from trouble and delivering the ball when he had to. The offense found a few momentum in garbage time, but the damage was already done. After another six yards were tacked on because of a penalty, Spencer Ware burst over from four yards out on the next play. The Lions’ resistance, however, had long beaten a retreat.
No one knows what the immediate future holds for the Lions, but Caldwell expects to remain as head coach. “I have always known that since 1979 when I entered the NFL. That’s just the way it is”.
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Losing doesn’t get any easier though. We’re playing against good players. Kansas City Chiefs rank at 29 for 193.0 road passing yards where as Detroit Lions rank at 20 for allowing 258.0 passing yards at home.
