The Detroit Lions added to their list of creatively finding different ways to lose a game, but Sunday’s loss may take the cake.

When the Detroit Lions were lost on Sunday afternoon by the Carolina Panthers, one thing became apparent.

They will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

The Lions inventing ways to lose football games is a common subject in Lions’ fans’ conversation. Another theme that fans discuss is how the Lions’ defense has a knack for making opposing quarterbacks look like world-beaters. 

However, the fact that a former XFL quarterback sonned the entire team in a 20-0 shutout victory was a complete joke. P.J. Walker. It’s one thing for the Lions’ to allow rookie quarterbacks to have their way with them in the past. We saw it last season with Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and the season before with Sam Darnold (Jets). And while that isn’t good, it’s understandable. 

Who exactly is P.J. Walker?

It’s an entirely different thing for a guy from Vince McMahon’s now-defunct football league to have continuous success against an NFL defense. Now let’s be fair to Walker. Before his stint in the XFL, he was a part of an NFL team. The Indianapolis Colts signed him in May 2017 as an undrafted free agent. After the Colts signed and waived him numerous times, he took his talents to the XFL. In five games with the Houston Roughnecks, he threw for 1,338, 14 touchdowns. He also led them to a 5-0 record, winning the league MVP before the league ceased operations. 

Additionally, he’s the all-time leading passer at Temple University with 10,669 yards. 

So it’s not like Walker is some total scrub. 

The problem is that Sunday afternoon vs. the Lions was his first NFL start. And in his first start, he threw for 258 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. If you only look at the box score, the two picks that he threw hint he did just an ok job. The problem was that Walker and the Panthers’ offense marched down the field like a Tee Grizzley song; with “No effort”. It was a breeze.

The Detroit Lions had the perfect chance to improve to .500 on the season and position themselves for a playoff spot for the first time under head coach Matt Patricia. Instead, the team is now 4-6 with a Thanksgiving game against Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans.

And if the Lions couldn’t do anything with a quarterback from basically a semi-pro league, they’ll have their work cut out for them against Deshaun Watson.