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The Notebook

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NOTEBOOK: Lions react to loss to Seahawks

Defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois told reporters after Detroit's 28-14 loss to Seattle at Ford Field Sunday that the Lions came out "flat" and "unfocused."

Asked if he thought the team hit cruise control this week after a dominating performance in Miami last week, running back Ameer Abdullah's response was, "obviously."

Now at the midway point of the season, those admissions have to be troubling for a 3-4 Lions team needing to buckle down and string some wins together entering the toughest portion of their 2018 schedule.

"We didn't get it done," Lions veteran safety Glover Quin said. "They played better than we did. That's about it."

Head coach Matt Patricia took full ownership of that fact after the game, and vowed to get back to work and find a way to be better and more consistent.

"We have to do a better job getting prepared during the week," he said. "I have to do a better job preparing us to get ready to go. We have to play better and we just have to go out and execute. That starts with me. So, we're going back to work here tomorrow."

The Lions are on the road the next two weeks against division foes Minnesota and Chicago. Then they come home for three games against Carolina, Chicago and the Los Angeles Rams. This is a crucial junction in the season, and Jean Francois said everyone better lock in starting Monday in Allen Park.

"I just want everybody to lock back in," he said. "Lock in for these next 10 weeks, just lock in. Leave everything else alone outside of this building.

"Just lock in and do your job, nothing else is important to us right now. Do your job, don't look at the clock during the game and do not look at the score during the game. We've got to focus and we have to lock in. We've got to learn this one value, do your job and do it to the best of your ability, and focus when you do it."

FAKE PUNT

Michael Dickson wasn't sure what Seattle head coach Pete Carrol was going to say to him after his nine-yard run out of his own end zone with just over two minutes left in the game netted Seattle a 1st down on a 3rd and 8 play.

"He was hype," Dickson said after the game. "He came in here after and was like, 'What were you thinking?'

"He told me after the London game, I think he was joking, but he said, 'When are you ever just going to run one,' and I said, 'Whenever you tell me to.' He was like, 'If there's a gap, just run it.' I told (Brian) Schneider, our special teams coach, and he said, 'Don't ever do that, he might be messing with you, don't do it.' Then today, when I was doing it, I was like, 'Pete said,' It paid off."

There was obviously a breakdown on the Lions' end, and Patricia said after the game he'd have to watch the film and see what it was.

TABOR STRUGGLES

The Lions are having to rely on second-year cornerback Teez Tabor more after putting Jamal Agnew on injured reserve a couple weeks ago. Tabor was OK in his first start last week in Miami. Sunday against Seattle, he struggled. He gave up a number of big plays, including a 15-yard touchdown to wide receiver David Moore and a 45-yard bomb to Moore that set up Seattle's last touchdown.

It was his illegal hands to the face penalty that set up the opportunity to take the shot to Moore instead of being off the field and forcing a Seattle punt.

The one knock on Tabor entering the draft was his lack of long speed. On the deep play to Moore in particular, we saw that. This is a copycat league -- will teams try to isolate him more moving forward?

EXTRA POINTS

  • Detroit's average starting field position was their own 15-yard line. Seattle's average starting spot was their 26-yard line.
  • After turning the ball over just once in his last four games, quarterback Matthew Stafford turned it over twice Sunday on a fourth quarter fumble and interception. Stafford said he should have had two hands on the ball when he was scrambling around and fumbled. He called the interception just a bad decision at the goal line.
  • Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. had a terrific game in the loss. He caught seven passes for 117 yards and two scores. Now all three of the Lions' top receivers – Jones, Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay – have 100-yard receiving performances this season.
  • Linebacker Christian Jones (knee) was injured in the fourth quarter and never returned to the game.

View in-game photos from the Detroit Lions Week 8 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

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