CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This was everything wrong about the Lions, every reason this regime must be fired, all stuffed in one tidy package. No energy, no depth, no coaching creativity, no offensive line, no defensive line, no secondary. Did I miss anything? No shot.
Dispirited, disorganized, disgusting. And also, done.
Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn are done, and the Lions played like a team that knows it, succumbing meekly to Carolina and a backup journeyman quarterback 20-0 Sunday. Any kind of a run is a fantasy now, and all that's left is for owner Sheila Ford Hamp to make the ousters official, at her earliest convenience. Whether it's today or after Thanksgiving or after the season, it has to happen, the sooner, the more merciful. There's nothing here worth keeping, and that includes a significant chunk of the roster.
The players were just as dismal as the staff, and it looked like their minds and effort kept wandering. I don't know if they gave up, but they certainly weren't fighting to save Patricia's job. It's more than a lack of effort; it's a lack of discipline and talent, which is Quinn's enduring failure. The Lions allowed backup P.J. Walker, in his first NFL start, to complete 24 of 34 passes — including 10-for-12 in the second half — for 258 yards. The Lions compiled only 185 total yards and Matthew Stafford was sacked five times, while they suffered their first shutout since 2009.
It can't get any more miserable and embarrassing than this, can it? Well, the Lions (4-6) have six more games to try, with Houston next on Thanksgiving.
At the start of this calendar year, Walker, 25, was playing well for the Houston Roughnecks of the now-defunct XFL. He'd also been cut numerous times by the NFL's Colts, and had thrown only eight passes in two games with the Panthers. Yet here was Carolina, missing starter Teddy Bridgewater, star running back Christian McCaffrey and two offensive linemen, throwing in Walker to direct an easy victory.
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