Lion fans, you’re suffering is finally over.
Thanks to a solid effort by Matthew Stafford (21 of 36, 241 yards, 1 TD) and Kevin Smith (16 carries, 101 yards), the Lions won their first game since December 23 of 2007 with a 19-14 victory over the Redskins on Sunday.
One of the players that will be overlooked in this victory for Detroit is rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy, who started in place of the injured Ernie Sims. Levy made two consecutive tackles on running back Clinton Portis inside the 5-yard-line on third and fourth down to stop the Redskins early in the first half and led the Lions in tackles at halftime. On the day, Levy finished with six tackles and one tackles for loss as Detroit held Washington to only 65 rushing yards. His efforts shouldn’t go overlooked.
Not to take away from the Lions’ big day, but this loss is going to loom large for Washington head coach Jim Zorn. His offense generated 390 total yards, but a week after barely beating the Rams, the Redskins were held out of the end zone by a brutal Detroit defense until early in the third quarter and then failed to score when they got the ball back with just over a minute remaining.
The Lions were eventually going to win again. But you just can’t be that team that losses to Detroit, especially when you’re a Redskins team that was heavily criticized the week before. How can you be 1-2 on the year when two of your first three games are against the Rams and Lions? The players may still believe in Zorn, but he is going to come under major fire over the next week and may not be long for Washington’s head coaching job.
I realize that guys like Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher were hurt. But what an embarrassing loss for Zorn and the Redskins. How can you only muster 13 points playing against the Lions and after totaling 390 yards? There’s just no excuse and barring a big turnaround, this could be the start of Zorn being ushered out of Washington.
