The Detroit Lions had a solid game on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, putting together a dominant showing for three quarters en-route to a comfortable 37-24 win.
Any time a team wins on the road there is a sense of accomplishment given the NFL's difficulty. In spite of that, the Lions have bigger goals and expectations, and that was on display after their solid performance against the Bengals.
In spite of Detroit allowing just 322 yards of offense, collecting two sacks, one safety and three humbling interceptions, the Lions had a sloppy fourth-quarter, allowing 21 points. They allowed a blowout to get too close for comfort and were not able to finish in style.
One of the bright spots in the game was cornerback Amik Robertson. Forced into a bigger role after D.J. Reed's injury, Robertson stepped up with six tackles and one interception. The effort made him Detroit's leading tackler on the day, and it was clear he played a major role for the secondary.
Robertson wasn't satisfied with his big day, though. He didn't like how the Lions finished the game, and believes that he didn't have his best effort, which led to the late meltdown.
"Me personally, I feel like (expletive), just because I have high expectations for myself. Outside looking in you might say 'Well, he caught a pick and started off fast. He was all over the field.' But that's something I do in my sleep. So it's all about finishing. Next week, I (need to) start off fast again, finish and start evolving the defense."
The way the Lions trended didn't sit well with Robertson. From up 28-3 in the third-quarter to giving up 21 points in the fourth, the cornerback believes he had the biggest hand in the meltdown with his play.
"We started out fast, but we kind of took a step back towards the end. And that (expletive) started with me. That (expletive) started with me. I can handle that, because I know how to respond to it and and I'll be fine."
Robertson reveals what he has to improve in order to help boost Lions
The play Robertson believed helped turn the tide against the Lions came as a result of greedieness. Instead of making a sound play, Robertson gambled for his second interception of the day, but missed. The Bengals scored, and momentum quickly swung the other direction.
According to Robertson, his improvements have to come with vision. When he is locked-in visually, he believes he plays a complete game. Some of the lapses during the game against Cincinnati came as a result of this error.
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"When I'm on it, when I'm playing with good eyes, I'm one of the stickiest guys in the league. If it's a nickel (or) corner, I feel like I'm very sticky in the secondary. Most of the time, I'm beat because of bad eyes. It's just something I got to fix."
Robertson and the Lions will get the chance to make their small improvements on the practice field this week. No matter the hair splitting, it was still a solid game for the veteran cornerback at a point when Detroit needed him to step up badly.