The last time the Detroit Lions entered their open date with a losing record

they fired the generalhttp://www.authenticsdetroitlions.com/cheap-ricky-wagner-jersey manager.This year, the break in the schedule has been a bit quieter.The Lions are 2-3 and have certainly had their problems during the early part of this season, but after winning two of their last three games, they appear to have achieved some stability. At the very least, there's no sense of panic — and that's noteworthy given how poorly Detroit's first couple games went."We just know what we have. The games that we lost, we had a lot of mental mistakes," receiver Marvin Jones said. "When we're a team that doesn't do that and has less penalties, and can keep a sustained drive and stuff like that, it's completely different. That's all we have to do is keep doing that."It was hard to imagine a more distressing beginning for the Lions than their 48-17 loss to the Jets in their season opener. That was new coach Matt Patricia's first game, and Detroit let a bad stretch in the third quarter snowball into a rout. A loss at San Francisco the following weekend had the Lions staring at a possible 0-5 start, since their next three games would be against New England, Dallas and Green Bay.Detroit did start 0-5 back in 2015, and at 1-7, the Lions fired GM Martin Mayhew. After that, Detroit produced back-to-back 9-7 seasons, making the playoffs in one of them, but the Lions wanted more and made a coaching change last offseason, bringing in Patricia to replace Jim Caldwell."Coach Caldwell and Patricia are completely, totally opposite as people. It will be some changes, but with anything, you get used to them Color Rush Michael Roberts Jersey ," receiver Golden Tate said. "You've just got to adjust."After the first two games, Detroit seemed in danger of taking a big step backward this year. That may still happen, but the past three games have given the Lions reasons to be hopeful. Patricia's first win came against his former team when Detroit beat New England . Last weekend, the Lions held off Green Bay 31-23 in Patricia's first game against an NFC North opponent."Hopefully we are getting better. I think we are," Patricia said. "I would say there are still some things that, after getting done watching all the tape, that I'm probably going to make sure we get corrected pretty quick here coming out of (Sunday's) game. It wasn't really all perfect."Detroit had some good fortune last weekend when Mason Crosby of the Packers missed four field goals and an extra point, but the Lions have improved in some tangible ways. Matthew Stafford threw four interceptions in the season opener but has only one since, and Detroit's long-dormant running game has at least become serviceable with rookie running back Kerryon Johnson. The Lions are ranked 21st in rushing offense this season after finishing 28th, 32nd, 30th and 32nd the past four years."When you break the huddle and you're at the line of scrimmage and the defense really isn't sure if it's a run or if it's a pass, that's a pretty good position for an offense to be in," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "If you're making yards on the ground, you're making yards throwing the ball, you're a little bit of a dual threat there for the defense, it can put them in some difficult situations."The Lions have plenty of issues they still have to deal with. They're ranked 27th in total defense, and defensive end Ziggy Ansah — back this season on the franchise tag — has missed four straight games with a shoulder injury. Detroit hasn't won away from home, and three of its next four games are on the road, starting with a matchup at Miami on Oct. 21.Still, the Lions have kept their season from falling apart after a terrible start. If they can make it to the halfway point in decent shape, then Patricia will have every opportunity to turn his debut year into a success."It's early in October Youth Kenny Golladay Jersey , so hopefully we can keep progressing," Patricia said. "But I think, I hope we're moving in the right direction."Follow Noah Trister at Twitter/noahtrister Here are the snap counts for the Detroit Lions’ Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings:Offense:QuarterbacksMatthew Stafford: 70 (100%)Running backsKerryon Johnson: 39 (56%)Theo Riddick: 39 (56%)LeGarrette Blount: 11 (16%)FullbacksNick Bellore: 6 (9%) — 18 special teams snaps (69%)Tight endsMichael Roberts: 36 (51%)Luke Willson: 34 (49%) — 9 (35%)Levine Toilolo: 16 (23%) — 8 (31%)Wide receiversKenny Golladay: 68 (97%)Marvin Jones Jr.: 63 (90%) TJ Jones: 36 (51%)Andy Jones: 2 (3%) — 18 (69%)Brandon Powell: 0 (0%) — 10 (38%)Offensive tacklesRick Wagner: 70 (100%) — 3 (12%)Taylor Decker: 65 (93%)Tyrell Crosby: 5 (7%) — 3 (12%)Guards/centersGraham Glasgow: 70 (100%) — 3 (12%)Frank Ragnow: 70 (100%) — 3 (12%)Kenny Wiggins: 39 (56%) — 3 (12%)T.J. Lang: 31 (44%)Observations:For the past two weeks, the Lions had been giving T.J. Lang some scheduled drives off, but this was more than that. Lang was severely limited in practice all week with a hip injury, and the result was playing less than half of the offensive snaps on Sunday. Kenny Wiggins took his place 56 percent of the time... and struggled. Additionally, it’s clear Taylor Decker wasn’t 100 percent either. While he only missed five snaps in the game, and it was due to cramping, Detroit took him off of special teams completely, suggesting his back injury was still limiting his play. If you had Andy Jones higher on the Lions’ depth chart than Brandon Powell, raise your hand. Anybody? Unsurprisingly, Theo Riddick had a ton of offensive snaps in his return from injury. Kerryon Johnson’s impact was limited after the Lions were forced to abandon the run in the second half. Defense:Defensive endRomeo Okwara: 44 (90%)Da’Shawn Hand: 24 (49%) — 5 (19%)Ezekiel Ansah: 12 (24%) — 1 (4%)Defensive tackleDamon Harrison: 33 (67%) — 4 (15%)A’Shawn Robinson: 30 (61%) — 7 (27%)Ricky Jean Francois: 13 (27%) — 4 (15%)LinebackersJarrad Davis: 49 (100%) — 5 (19%)Devon Kennard: 49 (100%) — 5 (19%)Christian Jones: 37 (76%) — 11 (42%)Trevor Bates: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)Eli Harold: 0 (0%) — 17 (65%)CornerbacksNevin Lawson: 46 (94%) — 6 (23%)Darius Slay: 46 (94%) — 1 (4%)DeShawn Shead: 30 (61%) — 5 (19%)Teez Tabor: 14 (29%) — 17 (65%)Lenzy Pipkins: 0 (0%) — 6 (23%)SafetyQuandre Diggs: 49 (100%) — 2 (8%)Glover Quin: 39 (80%) — 5 (19%)Tavon Wilson: 17 (35%) — 9 (35%)Tracy Walker: 5 (10%) — 14 (54%)Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 22 (85%)Charles Washington: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)Observations:Ezekiel Ansah was clearly just limited to pass-rushing situations and only played 12 snaps in his return. He did pick up a sack, but it was an otherwise unceremonious return to action.Damon Harrison took his rightful place as the team’s leading snap-getter along the interior of the defensive line. However, it curiously took away a good chunk of snaps from Da’Shawn Hand, who had been playing very well as a pass-rusher. I suppose Lions found themselves in need of more run-stopping defenders, which is why both A’Shawn Robinson and “Snacks” saw significantly more playing time. Teez Tabor played in just 14 snaps, but was able to make a horrible impression on limited playing time. Detroit more often opted to put DeShawn Shead out there, who had a mostly quiet day—a good thing for a cornerback. Special teamsSam Martin: 13 (50%)Don Muhlbach: 9 (35%)Matt Prater: 3 (12%)