The Lions got caught in an avalanche in the second half Sunday. What could go wrong did, and the only luck they had was bad.
While coach Dan Campbell has taken heat for his decision to go for it on two fourth downs in the second half, the Lions had the first one for a first down. Receiver Josh Reynolds dropped a perfectly placed pass on fourth-and-two from the San Francisco 28 that would have given the Lions a first down inside the 20 midway through the third quarter.
Reynolds later dropped a third-and-nine pass from Jared Goff that forced a Lions punt.
“Shit happens, man,” Reynolds said Monday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I know what kind of player I am. Didn’t want to drop them. Shit happens. I just — do I want those back? Of course, but I can’t and I just got to work this offseason and be prepared for the moment when it comes.”
Reynolds made one catch for 25 yards in the loss to the 49ers.
Quarterback Jared Goff defended Reynolds after the game, calling the receiver “a stud” who “made a mistake.”
“It’s something you learn throughout the years playing this game cause if you’re sitting here sulking on the bad, it’s hard to have good come out of it,” Reynolds said. “Ultimately, you’ve just got to learn from it, take it as a learning lesson, take it on the chin and move on.”
Reynolds couldn’t explain the second half onslaught that saw the Lions blow a 24-7 halftime lead but said nobody was “pointing fingers cause everybody knows there’s a lot that went into the” loss.
“I definitely didn’t help the part,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds caught 40 passes for 608 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season. He is scheduled to become a free agent in March but said the Lions have told him they want him back.
