Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate saw his season get off to an exceptionally slow start, and it turns out that it led to something of a spark.
Tate was essentially benched during the Lions’ Week 4 tilt against the Chicago Bears. Since then, he’s racked up 297 yards receiving on 17 catches and looked like a completely different player. He credits the benching with allowing him to take a mental break and get himself together.
“(The Chicago game) kind of lit a fire under my tail a little bit,” Tate said, via Kyle Meinke of MLive. “I had to dig deep a little bit. I had to soul search and think about some things. But it just came down to one thing for me — be confident in who I am as a player, work my tail off and control what I can control. And that’s when the ball is thrown my way, make something happen.”
While Jim Caldwell refused to call it a benching, it’s clear that there was some sort of turning point with the Chicago game. It is no coincidence that the team hasn’t lost since.
