Lions Deploy 10-Man Defense Against Dalvin Cook, Let's See How This Worked Out

Remember when Matt Patricia was the tubby pencil-in-the-hat, unkept hoodie-wearing defensive coordinator genius with the New England Patriots? Remember the guy who could've been a rocket scientist after graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute but who had a burning desire to be a football coach instead?

That same guy is now the 12-27-1 head coach of the Detroit Lions who deployed a 10-man defense against Dalvin Cook while trailing 27-13 in the fourth quarter. That's not a misprint. The Lions had only 10 men on the field as Cook, considered by pretty much all the experts to be the best in the NFL at what he does, ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run. He hit a top speed of 20.9 mph and sent Lions fans into a rage over the incompetence of a rocket scientist head coach who can't seem to count to 11.

It would be one thing if this was a single incident, but it's not. Fans are now keeping track of the times when the Lions defense has 10 players on the field. Two such times occurred on November 1 in a game against the Colts. According to Colts reporter Kevin Bowen, one of the 10-man defenses resulted in a Colts six-yard rush up the middle and the other resulted in a successful two-point conversion.

Next up for the 3-5 Lions is a game against the 2-6 Washington Football Team. As this will be a draft pick position game, the Lions should do whatever it takes to lose, including using 10 men on defense. Perhaps they should even go for nine.