FORD FIELD
WEEK 12: THURSDAY, NOV.26, 2020
The following are post-game notes and quotes from the Detroit Lions’ 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans at Ford Field on Thursday, Nov.26, 2020.
POST-GAME NOTES
LIONS SCORING PLAYS
-First Quarter: RB Adrian Peterson rushed for a one-yard score to give Detroit a 7-0 lead with 6:54 left in the quarter. K Matt Prater made the extra point.
-Second Quarter: RB Adrian Peterson rushed for a one-yard score to give Detroit a 14-13 lead with 12:56 left in the half. K Matt Prater made the extra point.
-Third Quarter: K Matt Prater made a 29-yard field goal to cut the score to 23-17 with 7:24 left in the quarter.
-Fourth Quarter: QB Matthew Stafford threw a 14-yard touchdown to WR Mohamed Sanu to cut the score to 41-25 with 6:32 remaining. Stafford and Sanu connected for the two-point conversion.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
LB JAMIE COLLINS SR.
-Logged five tackles (four solo), one pass defense and one forced fumble.-Produced his third forced fumble of the season, marking his second-straight year with three forced fumbles.
-Is now the only player in the NFL this season with at least 75 tackles and three forced fumbles.
-Upped his career totals to 19 forced fumbles since 2014, the fourth-most in the NFL in that span.
-Became the fourth Lion, and first since LB Ernie Sims in 2007, to produce a season with at least 80 tackles, three forced fumbles, 1.0 sack and an interception.
TE T.J. HOCKENSON
-Finished with five receptions for 89 yards (17.8 avg.), hauling in a career-long 51-yard reception.
-His 89 receiving yards are the most he’s produced in a home game and the second-most he’s had in a single game.
-Produced his seventh game this season with at least 50 receiving yards, tied for the most 50-yard games by a Lions tight end in a single season.
-Hauled in a career-long 51-yard pass. This marks the ninth-longest reception by a tight end in franchise history and the third-longest by a tight ending the NFL this season.
-Became only the third tight end in team history to log at least 500 receiving yards through the first 11 games of a season.
-His 530 receiving yards through the first 11 games of the season rank as the second-most a Lions tight end has ever produced through the first 11 games of a season.
-Logged 78 receiving yards in the first quarter of the game. This ranks as the most a Lions tight end has ever produced in the first quarter of a game, the most any NFL tight end has produced in the first quarter of a game this season, and as the most any NFL tight end since at least 2000 has produced in the first quarter of a Thanksgiving Day game.
RB KERRYON JOHNSON
-Rushed 11 times for 46 yards (4.2 avg.) and caught four passes for 52 yards (13.0 avg.) for 98 scrimmage yards on the day.
-Became the fifth player in franchise history to produce at least 30 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in the first half of a game.S C.J. MOORE
-Led the team with two special teams tackles, both solo. This marked the first game of his life playing against his identical twin A.J. Moore, who is a safety for the Texans.
LS DON MUHLBACH
-Appeared in his 255th-career game, tying QB Brett Favre (Green Bay) and TE Jason Witten (Dallas) for the 10th-most games a player has played for a single team in NFL history.
-Appeared in his 17th-career Thanksgiving Day game, passing TE Jason Witten (16) for the second-most in NFL history.
-Tied WR Tim Brown (255) for the seventh-most games played in NFL history by a player who played high school football in Texas.
RB ADRIAN PETERSON
-Recorded 15 rushes for 55 yards (3.7 avg.) and two touchdowns.-Recorded his 114th and 115th-career rushing touchdowns. This was also his 83rdcareer game with at least one rushing score.
-Produced his 27th-career game with at least two rushing touchdowns, tying Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown for the third-most in NFL history.
-Upped his career totals to 35 rushing touchdowns from the one-yard line, tied for the ninth-most in NFL history.
K MATT PRATER
-Finished one-of-one on field goal attempts and two-of-two on extra points for five points scored.
-Passed WR Calvin Johnson (66) for the fourth-most points scored in Thanksgiving Day history.
QB MATTHEW STAFFORD
-Finished 28-of-42 (66.7%) for 295 yards, one touchdown and an interception for an 84.9 passer rating.
-Passed QB Joe Montana (273) for the 17th-most touchdown passes in NFL history.
-Tied QB Tony Romo (18) for the most touchdown passes in Thanksgiving Day history.
-Extended his Thanksgiving Day record to 3,000 passing yards.
LIONS HEAD COACH MATT PATRICIA POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
Opening Statement:“Before we get into the game, obviously just [we’ve] got a lot to be thankful for here. Health, family, so I hope everybody has a good Thanksgiving. I’m just really appreciative of my family, my wife, my kids. My wife does a lot behind the scenes and from that standpoint I appreciate her a lot. Obviously the game wasn’t how we wanted it go. We didn’t play well enough. In those situations that come up, you’ve got to do a better job in [them] and it’s not good enough and we know that. We’ve got to go play better. We’ll take a couple questions and kind of go from there.”
On the frustration and what is causing them to lose despite hard work:“I mean I think hard work is also perseverance. I think it’s guys who are here put in a lot of hard work and persevered through a lot to get here. So we’ve just got to keep pushing from that standpoint. There’s never an easy fix. It’s never a magic wand. It’s hard work. That’s what it is. From that standpoint, we know that when we put the hard work in and it doesn’t come out the way we want it to, we have just got to stay firm and we have to keep pushing. Give Houston credit, it’s a good ball club. They’ve got a lot of really good players over there. They played well. They’ve been playing well in the last several games, so they played better than we did today.”
On dropping to 4-7 and what that means for his job security:“My thoughts are really just with the team here today and what we were trying to do here today. It doesn’t go beyond that, it’s what I focus on. I focus on the team. I focus on those guys that go out on that field, those guys that our in that locker room and try to give them everything I can to give them a chance to go be successful. That’s the focus. It never changes, it is what it is.”
On what exactly his answer was on the previous question due to audio difficulties:“It’s the same as always for me. In general, like I said, my focus every day is on the guys in that locker room and working as hard as I can to help those guys be successful. It’s really not outside of that. I don’t think outside of that, I don’t worry outside of that other than just trying to do the best job I can every day to help everybody be successful and try to get our team going. So, other than that, we play pretty short term and are pretty focused on the task at hand. So that’s kind of where we stay with it.”
On if he expects to be coaching the team next week:“Yeah, again, I focus on one day at a time. That hasn’t changed. So, we’ll focus on today and go from there.”
On what his schedule looks like in terms of ownership meetings and if he meets with executives after the game:“I always keep my schedule with ownership and obviously Bob (Quinn) and everybody else, private. What I just finished doing was with the players. So that’s really kind of where I was at.”
On the multiple turnovers early in the game:“Well, I mean, we obviously know that turnovers are a big part of this game, we can’t have them. We thought that we went out and responded on one level good, we got the turnover right back, that’s always good. We know that we’ve got to do better than that. The ball is the most important thing.”
On personally dealing with the scrutiny that he is under as a coach:“Yeah, we just try to stay focused on what is happening here, inside these walls. That’s what we focus on. Like I said, try to answer it the best way I can, but honestly I just get around the players, I get around the other coaches, and I do what I love to do, which is go coach football. That’s really where I stay.”
On where the team has improved this season:“I mean obviously it’s hard to come off of a game like this and try to figure out what was better from that aspect of it. But I think there are things in there that have been consistent and things that are good that we’re happy with, but obviously the inconsistencies of the things that are bad –whether we get them fixed one week and then they show up two weeks later, or they’ve been bad for a couple weeks in a row, that’s the stuff that we’ve got to get turned around.”
On the bigger picture of why his tenure at the Lions has not been successful:“Yeah, I’m just focused on right now. I just got done with that locker room. I love those guys. I know they’ve played really hard, they’re hurting, and we know that we’ve got a lot of work to do. So, that’s my focus right now. It’s on today.”
On his response to the Texans Head Coach Romeo Crennel still being aggressive on offense after being up late in the game: keeping their foot on the pedal late in the game:“No, I said ‘Happy Thanksgiving. Send love to your family from my family.’ And we’ve got to go play a football game. And listen, we had a trick play earlier in the game. Great job by them in a short week. I think we all know that on short weeks, those things come up and you’ve got to be ready for them and they obviously executed theirs outstandingly.”
LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On at what point he becomes sick of the team’s struggles:“I love playing this game. I hate losing. I love the guys in the locker room. I love this organization. I love playing for it, so that’s not my style. I’m going to keep fighting, keep doing everything I can do to try and help us win. Obviously I wasn’t good enough today because we didn’t win the game so I have to be better. I hate losing, frustrating, disappointing, all of that.But I’m going to continue to work and try and get better.”
On his thinking during his pick-six to Texans DE J.J. Watt:“It’s not the play call. I probably could have just kept progressing through and get to somebody else. Thought we out-flanked them in the flat quickly and he just made a great play. Obviously, still can’t do that, but he’s a great player and has done that quite a few times so, yeah. That’s what he’s great at. Have to avoid it.”
On why he thinks Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia should continue to be head coach:“It’s not my decision. That’s for somebody else. If you want to ask me about the game, you ask me about the game. “
On if he ever wonders what it would be like playing elsewhere:“No, I just put my head down and go to work. It’s on us as players, we have to go out there and make plays. It doesn’t matter what uniform you’re wearing, the team that makes more plays is going to win the game. And we didn’t do that and haven’t done it consistently enough this year, we understand that. We work every day to make sure that it is us who is making the plays to win the game. So we have to go out there and make the plays when they’re available.”
On what didn’t work today and what has not worked big picture:“I’ll answer about today. Turn the ball over. Turn the ball over three times on three consecutive drives in the first half, put our defense in a bad spot, give up seven points. Have too many mistakes, that’s what’s going to do you in. Obviously, the Texans, maybe their record doesn’t show it, but they’re a talented football team and they’re playing really well at the moment. We knew we had our work cut out for us and made too many mistakes. It’s on us as players out there. Three turnovers early in the game kills momentum and makes it hard to come back from it.”
On the pressure of playing meaningful football heading into December:“That’s what we all work for. That’s (why) we put all the work in, is to play in big time games and in games that mean a bunch. Every time we go out there and play, it means everything. As a player, what you put on tape is who you are as a player. We have to go out there and prove it every single time as players but definitely disappointing losing games.”
On the personal toll of this season:“There is no woe with me. There’s a lot of people out there in this world that like I’ve said it before, don’t get to do what they love, lost family members, or whatever, during this time so I have a lot more compassion for them and understanding for them than anything that’s bothering me at the moment. I get to come in to work and do what I love to do with a group of guys that I love, and I feel lucky in that (inaudible). Is it easy to lose games? No. That’s tough, there’s no question about that. But at the same time I do feel lucky to do what I do, especially at a time like this.”
On if he thinks Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia has changed at all because of the scrutiny surrounding his job:“No, he’s the same guy every day. Guy comes to work, grinds, and he wants to win like all of us. He’s a passionate football coach. He loves the game, loves the X’s and O’s, loves the players, all that. He just wants to win like the rest of us. I’ve had a lot of respect for how he is, just, continued to come to work and try to put us in the best position to succeed.”
On the disconnect between the team’s preparation and performance on the field:“We just have to make plays. Guys on the field, when the ball is snapped, we have to go make plays. That’s the bottom line in the NFL. The teams that make the plays. The teams that don’t, don’t. That’s basically what it boils down to.”
LIONS TE T.J. HOCKENSON POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On why Head Coach Matt Patricia should remain head coach:“Obviously, I can’t say. I’m not going to comment on somebody else’s job. I’m just here to do mine, obviously. Matt Patricia gave me a chance to come into this organization. So, for that, I owe him. Obviously, that’s up to the front office –all that other stuff. You guys can talk about that, but he’s still my head coach. He’s still my head coach. If he’s not, he’s still the guy that gave me an opportunity to be a Detroit Lion. So, for that, I’ll forever be grateful.”
On how to prevent offensive turnovers and what was the cause of them in the first half:“I think all three of those guys –that’s not their M.O. That’s not how –I mean, it is what it is. You have to move on from the next play, and I think we just need to continue to focus on that. Those guys–we trust those guys with the ball all the time. They need to remain confident because that doesn’t happen often. So that’s what we were saying on the sideline, just, ‘Dude, you’re one of the best with the ball on this team. We need you, and we need you to capitalize.’ Those guys came back, and every single one of them went back on the field with confidence and were able to do what they do. Obviously, it didn’t end out the way we wanted it to, but I think in that aspect.”
On catching the sidearm pass from QB Matthew Stafford and feeling like he would have a big day:“Yeah, I felt like I was on a roll. But I think sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles, sometimes that’s the game flow. I felt really good. I felt really good in the second half, too. But obviously, opportunities weren’t there. But I’m just trying to stay focused and stay focused on my job, whether that’s blocking, running routes, getting open, catching the ball, whatever it is, I’m just here to do my job.”
LIONS RB ADRIAN PETERSON POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On the quick three turnovers in the first half:“That’s one thing we talk about each week is protecting the ball and not turning it over. One was a pick-six, and the other two came at critical times. I think one was closer to the red zone, a little outside the red zone, and I think the other one was across the 50 as well. I felt like we were moving the ball and we did things that hurt ourselves. Credit to Houston defense of course, but it’s the National Football League and when you turn the ball over three times it’s hard to come back from that, especially when you are giving away points as well. So, it was very critical for us. We went into the half down by nine and came out, was able to create a drive and it just kind of halted towards the end and had to settle for the three. I felt like that kind of bit us as well.”
On his involvement in and charitable contributions to the Detroit community:“I think it’s important. I think that’s our main role in having this platform and having the resources to be able to partner with great organizations and give back to the community is what it’s all about. Like today, with 100,000 meals, had the opportunity to partner with Athletes’ Corner to distribute these meals to these families on Thanksgiving. I think it’s important because there’s a lot of people that go without being able to have a meal, something as simple as a meal. To have the opportunity to give back that’s what it’s about. Being a part of this organization, I think it shines a light that this organization and its players care about the community and city of Detroit. The people here are amazing. They welcomed me with open arms and the A&A Peterson Foundation, we’re all about giving back and helping others and showing people we care about them and we want to help them in their times of need. With the virus going on, it kind of hindered a lot of things, but we had a lot of hard work and were able to help a lot of people here in the last couple of weeks.”
On the offense’s struggles recently:“I would say just being more consistent. You look at us as an offense, we have been able to be productive. Last year, I mean last week, it was a different story of course, but with the exception of that, we’ve been productive as an offense. It’s just all about being consistent. So that’s what it is, it’s the consistency. Being able to capitalize in the red zone is something Coach (Matt) Patricia harps on every week. He talks about it all the time. Being more efficient in the red zone. It comes down execution and that’s on us as an offense. Once we get down there, we have to execute better and be put in there in the right position and get seven points instead of three because when you’re kicking field goals in this league it’s hard to win games. I’ll say it’s a combination of those things.”
LIONS DT NICK WILLIAMS POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On what it was like after the game and the message from Head Coach Matt Patricia:“Man, it was a hard-fought game. Of course, we wanted to come out with the win on Thanksgiving, one of our spotlight games, starting off Thanksgiving. We went out –defense played hard, came up short. At the end of the day, Coach Patricia just (said) go back to fundamentals. Coming back in and keeping our heads down, go to work. Not keep our heads down in a bad way, but just keeping our heads down until the end of it. Just go to work, get back to fundamentals, get back to what we do and go from there.”
On if there was any talk about Head Coach Matt Patricia’s future as the Lions’ head coach:“No talk. That’s a question you’ll have for him. I can’t answer that question
