How did the Detroit Lions blow a 24-6 fourth quarter lead and ultimately end up going home with a tie against the Arizona Cardinals?
Kyler Murray has a theory. The Cardinals quarterback, who suddenly caught fire in the fourth as Arizona stormed back, sensed that fatigue became a factor for the Lions late in the 27-27 tie.
Kyler Murray, on what changed late: "Late in the game, I think they were just tired. I know Harrison wasn't on the field a lot, probably due to him not playing a lot in the preseason."
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) September 9, 2019
Murray citing defensive lineman Damon Harrison’s absence is interesting. On Twitter after the game, Harrison blamed himself for the defeat and said he’d been “dominated.”
This ones on me…I got dominated today. Hats off to the Cardinals. 100% on me
— Damon Harrison Sr. (@snacks) September 9, 2019
Are there consequences for a lack of preseason reps? Does sitting out most of the games make it harder to play a full 60 minutes early in the regular season? It’s hard to say, but the Lions did not look like the same team, particularly on defense, at the end of the game as they did in the first half. In fact, the questions surrounded Murray at that point. He stepped it up and looked totally different in the second half, and some of the credit has to go his way.
