The game seemed winnable, even the final line looked in the Lions favor, well all but one stat. Kevin Smith averaged 4.7 yards per carry while all Cincinnati running backs averaged only 3.1 yards. The Lions Defense also held Carson Palmer to a below average game, he finished with a quarterback rating of about 65.
So what was it that made the Lions lose this game in a 23-13 effort you might ask? The Lions continued to allow the Bengals to convert on late downs. The Bengals went 6-16 on converting third downs and also converted their only fourth down of the afternoon.
As I mentioned earlier however, Kevin Smith had a pretty decent game. Smith amassed 75 yards on 16 carries against the Bengals. While he still isn't showing the break away speed we would like in a running back (his longest run was for 17 yards) he did pick up strong yardage in between the tackles, which makes me believe he could be a quality complementary back in the future when the Lions get a balanced team.
More game coverage can be found on www.freep.com and www.detnews.com
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