You don't want to play the Detroit Lions in Week 3 under Matt Patricia
The Detroit Lions won a game!
I know, I know. The exclamation point is a little much. But hey, it's the Lions, and the bar has been low since 1957.
OK. That's not quite fair. After all, the Lions' 26-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday isn't as surprising as it seems.
Yes, the Lions were 5 1/2-point underdogs on the road.
And, yes, they hadn't won a game in 336 days, a streak dating back exactly 11 months to Oct. 27, when they beat the New York Giants, 31-26, at Ford Field.
But this was Week 3. And the Lions don't lose in Week 3 under Matt Patricia.
Why? I have no idea. You're better off asking Bobby Layne, the mastermind of all this chaos.
Here are the cold, hard facts for a coach who is now 10-24-1 with the Lions but 3-0 on Week 3:
2018: beats New England Patriots, 26-10, at Ford Field; Patriots go on to win the Super Bowl.
2019: beats the Eagles in Philadelphia, 27-24; Eagles make the playoffs as a wild card.
2020: beats the Cardinals in Arizona, 26-23, on Matt Prater's 39-yard field goal after intercepting Kyler Murray three times.
We're not quite sure how Patricia does it. But if Week 3 were the entire NFL season, we wouldn't have to keep talking about 1957 and some curse by some guy named Bobby Layne.
Here's a snapshot of the reaction to the win:
RELATED:Dare we say it? Patricia and Lions outcoached Cardinals in win
YOUR TURN! Grade the Lions' 26-23 win over the Cardinals
You don’t want to face a week 3 Matt Patricia coached team
— Justin Miller (@JustinMiller015) September 27, 2020
Lions are going 14-2
— NinjaInnit (@Ninja) September 27, 2020
#BREAKING: For the first time in 336 days, the Detroit Lions won a football game. They beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-23. pic.twitter.com/5QwPR4B54B
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) September 27, 2020
.@MattPrater_5 called GAME‼️#DETvsAZ | 📺 FOX | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/JOyGU6cYM2
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 27, 2020
The Detroit Lions won a Football game
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 27, 2020
Hard to overstate the importance of that win for the #Lions. A FG wins it at 00:00 over the #AZCardinals. Just huge for Detroit, getting their first win.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2020
14-2 LETS GO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zMTh3k70eK
— Abdul Memon (@abdulamemon) September 27, 2020
CONGRATS LIONS pic.twitter.com/FsrPswbAqr
— Dave Rappoccio (@DrawPlayDave) September 27, 2020
You don’t want to face a week 3 Matt Patricia coached team
— Justin Miller (@JustinMiller015) September 27, 2020
Chris Thomas is the sports editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at cdthomas@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @bychristhomas.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions are juggernauts under Matt Patricia — but only in Week 3
