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Well, somebody told me
| GLENDALE Matt Prater Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray had already produced a few storybook moments during his first game as an NFL quarterback and seemed on the verge of another in overtime. On third down, the Arizona Cardinals rookie bounced around for a moment and then fired a pass over the middle.The ball smacked the hand of Lions linebacker Christian Jones.It fell harmlessly to the turf.Article continues below ...To everyone’s disbelief, all that drama was about to end in a 27-27 tie with the Detroit Lions on Sunday. For the Cardinals, it almost felt like a win, considering how things started.“I’ve never tied before,” Murray said. “It’s better than a loss, that’s all I can say.”The Cardinals nearly finished an improbable comeback in the rookie’s debut, rallying from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24 in regulation.They had two chances to win in extra time and so did the Lions, but all they could do was trade field goals.“It’s like a participation trophy,” Arizona offensive lineman Justin Pugh said. “I want to throw it out.”It was a strange ending to a thrilling game.Arizona’s new-look offense under first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury was a dud for most of the afternoon before inexplicably coming alive in the fourth quarter. Murray hit David Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown to pull the Cardinals within 24-16 with less than six minutes remaining.After the defense stopped the Lions, the top overall draft pick was at it again, leading a nine-play Sam Martin Jersey , 60-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown throw to Larry Fitzgerald. Murray found Christian Kirk for a 2-point conversion to tie it with 43 seconds remaining.Murray was 15 of 19 for 154 yards and two touchdowns during the fourth-quarter rally. Overall, he was 29 of 54 or 308 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.“We just started doing what we were good at,” Murray said. “I don’t want to say simple, but just running our stuff and going fast. I think that opened things up.”Kingsbury took the blame for the early problems.“It was three quarters of the worst offense I’ve seen in my life and it was my fault,” Kingsbury said. “Bad play calls, just trying to do too much, and we’ll get that corrected.”Detroit had one final chance to drive for the win with 1:10 left in overtime, but it didn’t go anywhere. Stafford threw a dangerous pass that was nearly intercepted by Tramaine Brock with 10 seconds left.Brock said he made the mistake of looking toward the end zone before making the catch.“We knew they were trying to get out of bounds, but when the ball did come, my eyes popped open wide,” Brock said.Detroit looked totally in control until midway through the fourth period. The Lions took a 17-0 lead during the second quarter and had a 17-3 advantage at halftime. A smattering of boos was heard at State Farm Stadium.Matthew Stafford threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions Calvin Johnson Jersey , but they couldn’t put together drives in the fourth quarter to stop Arizona’s momentum.“For us, we got to stay focused all the way though,” Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. “I have to coach it better. We can finish the game.”Arizona’s Fitzgerald, in his 16th NFL season, finished with eight catches for 113 yards. Zane Gonzalez was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, making them from 20, 42, 34 and 28 yards.It’s the second straight year a game ended in a tie in the first week after the Browns and Steelers did the same thing last year.Stafford threw touchdown passes to Danny Amendola, Kenny Golladay and T.J. Hockenson.“Tough one to swallow,” Stafford said. “Obviously, was in a good spot for a little bit. We’ve got to do a better job of finishing the game out.”NICE GAME, ROOKIEDetroit’s T.J. Hockenson made an immediate impact. The 6-foot-5 Womens Zach Zenner Jersey , 247-pound tight end, the No. 8 overall pick in April, was a problem for the Arizona secondary, creating mismatches all over the field. He finished with six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.ANOTHER ONEChandler Jones had Arizona’s biggest play of the first quarter when he sacked Stafford, stripped the ball and recovered the fumble. Jones has 42 sacks in 49 career games with the Cardinals, including at least one sack in all four season openers since joining the franchise in 2016.UP NEXTLions: Play their home opener next Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, who beat Indianapolis in overtime.Cardinals: Head east to face QB Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, who looked very good in Week 1 in a lopsided win over Miami.Detroit Lions Week 2 Song of the Game: ‘Somebody Told Me’ Song of the Game is back. Each week, we’ll use a song to describe our feeling or the Lions’ performance from the previous game. At the end of the year, we’ll have a complete Spotify playlist telling the story of the Lions’ 2018 season. You can check out the 2017 playlist here, and our explanations for our choices here.Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers Song of the Game: “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers“Pace yourself for me...”For the better part of Sunday afternoon’s game against the 49ers, the Lions looked less than good for the second week in a row. At some points Kenny Golladay Jersey White , the Lions looked like they didn’t even belong on the same field as the Niners—most notably on San Francisco’s three-play, 97-yard drive that ended in a 66-yard touchdown by Matt Breida and gave the 49ers a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.But there were moments—certainly more moments than in last week’s disaster against the New York Jets—where Detroit showed what could be. “It’s not confidential, I’ve got potentialA-rushing, rushing around...”After an entire preseason’s worth of film led everyone to believe the Lions were going to struggle rushing the passer, worst fears were confirmed against the Jets in Week 1. But in the Lions second game of 2018, their defense, without having to face a short field to defend, got a lot more from their pass rush, sacking Jimmy Garoppolo six times on Sunday.“Seventeen tracks and I’ve had it with this gameI’m breaking my back just to know your nameBut heaven ain’t close in a place like this...”Aside from some potential shown in the pass rush department, it was hard to ignore the way the Lions were outplayed by the Niners for essentially three and a half quarters. Sure, Detroit was able to get to Garoppolo in the passing game, but the defense gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground—not exactly a strategy that will win you many football games.What was especially hard not to notice was the way the perceived strengths of this team are proving to be anything but what they actually are on game day. Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense didn’t look like the strength they so clearly are supposed to be for this team Womens Kenny Golladay Jersey , and the secondary has been a massive disappointment through two games outside of Quandre Diggs and a few plays from Jamal Agnew.“Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriendWho looked like a girlfriendThat I had in February of last year”And then there’s the Lions coaching staff—Matt Patricia specifically.Week 2’s biggest gaffe on the coaching front had to have been Patricia’s clock management at the end of the first half. Instead of calling a timeout, Patricia decided to let a good chunk of time fall off the clock and holding onto all three of his timeouts for once the Lions offense got the ball.Lions fans were quick to fall for Patricia. He was supposed to be the ripest fruit from the Bill Belichick coaching tree, and things have been nothing but sour for the better part of a month and a half. The preseason left fans with more concern than comfort, and the start to the 2018 season has done nothing but exacerbate those concerns.Last year, the New England Patriots had one of the most coveted defensive coordinators in the league, coaching into February’s Super Bowl, but now? He’s just another winless coach in his first season, not nearly as hot of a date as he was some months later. |
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