In the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Bears, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford could be seen venting his frustrations on the sideline after an interception.
Stafford threw to where he believed a cutting wide receiver Golden Tate would be, but Tate kept running upfield. Tate didn’t play much from that point on in the game, although he did return to catch a late two-point conversion. Coach Jim Caldwell said after the game that the team came into the game wanting to get Andre Roberts more playing time when asked if Tate’s playing time dropped because of the miscommunication with Stafford.
“We wanted to give Andre a chance,” Caldwell said, via the Detroit News. “It was our plan beforehand.”
Tate said there was discussion of more playing time for Roberts, who returned a punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the team brief hopes of a comeback win. He also took blame for the interception.
“Just a silly mistake on my part,” Tate said. “That cost us three points. It’s tough. That can’t happen in this offense. This team expects more out of me, so I’ve got to be on point.”
Tate had one catch for one yard Sunday and has 13 catches for 94 yards overall.
