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Detroit Lions film review: The 5 plays that led to must-need win vs. Chargers

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Dave Birkett & Carlos Monarrez say Lions did some good things, but were helped by mistake-prone Chargers, Sept. 15, 2019. Has season outlook changed? Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press

Most NFL games come down to a handful of key plays, and the team that makes the most usually walks away a winner.

Detroit Lions football coach Matt Patricia calls them “got-to-have-it” plays, and the team work on them incessantly in practice.

In training camp, Patricia often threw his players into random situations at the end of a period — a fourth-and-3 on the goal line, for instance, where the offense needs a touchdown to win and the defense needs a stop.