To say things didn’t go well for the Detroit Lions in their Week 1 home game Monday against the New York Jets would be a ginormous understatement.
Although rookie quarterback Sam Darnold had a pick-6 on his first throw of the game to give the home team an early lead, the Jets destroyed the Lions, 48-17, and picked apart their offense piece by piece.
In turn, Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford was the one who looked like a frazzled rookie terrified in his first big-league game – not the team leader who inked a monster contract last year. He threw four interceptions – one of which was also a pick-6 – and went 27-for-46 for 286 yards and one touchdown. His total QBR was 8.8, per ESPN.
It was almost like the Jets defense knew the plays before the snaps.
Well, according to linebacker Darron Lee – who returned Stafford’s third-quarter pick for a 36-yard touchdown – they did. Via The Detroit News:
“We were calling out their plays as (Stafford) was getting up to the line,” said Lee, who was credited with three of the Jets’ 12 pass breakups Monday. “We knew his signals. We knew everything. … It just seemed like we were in his head as a defense.”
Of course, we don’t know how much of that statement is true or how much of it was an exaggeration wrapped in the excitement of demolishing the home team in the season opener.
But it seemed clear that by the third quarter, the Jets were definitely in Stafford’s head. But he did take some responsibility. More from The Detroit News:
“The story of the game is turnovers, you know?” he said. “We had too many of ’em. I had too many of ’em. Can’t do that to our team. I told those guys in there, ‘I’ll take this one.’ Hope I never have to say that again.”
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