If things couldn't get any worse, they most certainly did with a disappointing but not unexpected loss to the now 2-0 Forbidden City Dragons, by a score of 20-3. The offense just didn't bother to show up at all, signalling what has to be a new low for the Lions franchise, with the game well and truly over at halftime, the Dragons just ran riot over the Lions, with both running back Lu Bu (159 yards) and quarterback Yuan Shao (192 yards) just having a field day out there and the Lions not even looking like a football team. If many fans could call it that. The only spark there was 23 tackles from both linebacker Paul Quick (13 tackles) and safety Douglas Dunham (10), with Quick now leading the league so far this season with 28 tackles.

It was a sad sight to see the Lions play last weekend, they just had no answer whatsoever and everyone now is more than questioning the decisions of the ownership group, as well as Head Coach James Jennings, General Manager Todd Carlton and probably even the water boy to the decisions that they have made, most notably with the acquisition of Joe Chacon, who has seemingly forgotten how to play quarterback, seemingly throwing more ***** away or getting thrown on the ground than actually playing the position, he currently sits third in most sacked quarterback so far across the two games, has the sixth worse QBR (57.34) of quarterbacks who have thrown more than 20 passes so far and sixth least yards per attempt on the season.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings was brutal about the performance that the team has shown and how things have to change quickly:

"That was a disaster, we just didn't bother to show up and I made that clear to the team, the whole team. We just didn't bother to play a single down properly, it was like we trained all week, developed our gameplan as we wanted to manage it, to execute it and then the moment we stepped onto the field, we forgot it all. The running game is putrid, the air game just plain sucks and frankly, we don't deserve to be called a football team right now, because teams are just walking all over us. I can't have that on my team. I can't tolerate players who don't want to play for this team on every single down, every single minute. It's what I believe. These players need to start understanding that it is about the team, about the philosophy we have going on here, and the mentality of actually winning".

The Lions now need to get something going, because they are coming up against the Porth Emmett Auctioneers, and while they are also sitting at 0-2, someone is going to get their first victory, but with the Auctioneers looking like a much stronger side, it could be another one-sided matchup, and while some might say that this could be a kicking shoot-out kind of game, seeing the Auctioneers contain the Zombies to 128 rushing yards and 210 receiving yards against a team that went 15-1 last season and seemingly has kept going from there despite the ownership change in the offseason, and despite the 0-2 start, the Auctioneers have looked like a better side in those games, even with rookie quarterback Clifford Blake taking the reins from the previous quarterback Ruben Hankins, who despite having a bit of an off-season last year, was operating at a 60% completion rate, however, the upside to playing Blake has been that despite both losses, he too is sitting at just shy of the same completion rate.

The Auctioneers also have little injuries to worry about, with the only major concern being both offensive guards in John de Mol and Timothy Nelson and a quite severe knee injury to starting safety Thaddeus Colbert, while the Lions have concerns across all aspects with rookie running back Steven Alvarado looking like playing his first regular season game following the end of the road trip, and now tackle Brian Fernandez sent home and looking like missing the next four to five weeks with a leg sprain, which was downgraded earlier today after further scans and treatment from the medical staff. It doesn't paint much of a better picture for the Lions, but there are so many questions that need answering from this side, sitting rock bottom and looking closer to irrelevance than a championship-winning franchise.

The main question that needs to be asked is how long this disaster can keep on rolling before something has to change...

Game Prediction: Sadly, it's going to be another loss here. Porth Emmett to win it by 14.

The Lions once again failed to even show up, as they suffered a third straight defeat, this time to Porth Emmett and dropping further behind this season, and the time seems to have come with fans across the week demanding change and they want it to begin with the Head Coach, however, the ownership has been as quiet as they have been about the future of the coaching staff, and whether or not this rebuild has actually achieved anything, but with the questions still being asked, something has to change. When pressed on the issue, Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar was coy about how the team plans to make changes and get back into this season:

"James Jennings is our coach, I'm not going to make rash and quick-fire decisions just based on three weeks of results, which even I admit aren't the best, but honestly; we are rebuilding. It's deflating. It's tough. Everyone is feeling it, even I am. We will get the results we want, give the whole thing some time, trust the process"

Head Coach James Jennings wasn't as diplomatic when approached by the media during his regular midweek press conference, talking about the fact that the team has basically failed to do anything offensively in the first three games and that something needs to change, and that he does take responsibility for the disaster that has already fallen upon the team this season:-

“I can't sit here and say everything is OK when it's not. It starts with me, it starts with my coaches and it starts with our game plan. We have not executed the game plan the way we should have, we have not made it clear to the players what this game plan represents and what it means to not just this franchise, but to the fans and supporters and to the city. We have failed in that. We failed in executing the simplest of offensive plays, to manage a disgusting 27 rushing yards when in preseason we were averaging nearly 50. Nine touchdowns in the preseason, and we can't even manage one now; we've got to be the dumbest team in the league in terms of playing the game. I'm highly critical because of the way we give games away. We give 'em away! Period. It's embarrassing, and I represent that. And I apologize for that! ”

With many saying this might have been the final words of a coach with one foot out the door, the questions are only going to get louder and harder for the coach and ownership, before too long, the court of public opinion is going to turn and force someone's hand.

The Lions head off to Amsterdam on the third leg of their four-leg road trip and face the also 0-3 Dutch Prodigies, who are coming off a heavy 34-9 defeat to the Echidnas. The Prodigies have also struggled with their offense, rookie quarterback Scott Moseley so far throwing only 264 yards, and despite his first professional game without a sack, he has struggled with connecting the ball to his receivers, sitting at a 40.8% pass completion, second worst in the league from quarterbacks who have had more than 50 pass attempts this season. His QBR of 40.09 is also the second worst amongst qualifying quarterbacks. Comparable to Joe Chacon, who is at 60.9% and a QBR of 63.22, the battle may be won or lost in the air.

But it may just as well be decided by the kicking feet of their respective kickers, with Lions kicker Jeffery Paz at the moment perfect through the three games so far, his longest being a 49-yard field goal, while Antonio Manuel is also perfect, but with his longest being only 38-yards, there could be some serious competition as to who gets the most out of the game. Three games in and both teams' punters are also looking like contenders in their respective fields, with Nicholas Diaz leading the league in punting yards (1,421 yards from 30 punts), while Jeffery Robinson is not that far behind with the sixth-most (1,238 yards from 27 punts). This could be all that this game is going to be, and it may just be the one score that wins it. This won't be a game worth watching in all honesty.

The Lions do, however, welcome back rookie running back Steven Alvarado who returns and will look to team up with newly acquired Fred Pickney and form a super running combo team, while the Lions also welcome in cornerback Barry Ridout, picked up off the waiver wire following his release earlier in the week from the Mean Machine. He comes straight into the side, replacing Richard Ballard who has headed home due to personal commitments with his family. The team made a corresponding roster move, releasing sixth-round draftee offensive guard Keith Harkless.

Game Prediction: It's going to be a boring game for the Lions, I think Dutch will get this one by a small margin, possibly 3 points

The Lions finally did it, they finally won a game this season, and they "improve" to 1-3 as they defeated the Dutch Prodigies 20-13 as they get that all-important win heading into the final game of this four-game road trip. The Lions actually looked like a football team this week, passing in over 400 yards on offense, including a career-high 266 passing yards from Joe Chacon, and also the first multiple-touchdown game of his career, along with the return of rookie running back Steven Alvarado who ran in for 77 yards from 11 attempts, and while the plan was to slowly integrate him into the offense, the injury to Fred Pickney has made it necessary to make a change and it looks likely that Alvarado will be the team's new RB1 moving forward, despite a 75-yard day from Pickney. The Lions had it all go their way, even seeing star wide receiver Tony Lockett manage his first touchdown since Week 10 of last season.

Penrith could be excused for taking their foot off the pedal in this game as well, leading 17-10 early in the third quarter, they almost let the Prodigies back into it with a field goal near the end of the third, being intercepted on the very first play of the next drive and almost putting the Prodigies in striking distance, if it was not for the kicking feet of Antonio Manuel, missing a 41-yard field goal that proved to be the difference, with the Lions picking up a final three points off the boot of Jeffery Paz with 10 minutes to run in the game.

After the game, Head Coach James Jennings looked a little better when speaking with the media but he still was not impressed with the way that the Lions got the victory today:-

"We struggled again, almost gave that victory away. We have to seriously start getting the points ahead of the opposition and actually start stopping them. We can not give up a lead like we did, sitting at 10-3, and almost losing it in a single quarter, we have to be better. Offensively, we have to start hitting our targets more, and scoring more, not just relying on the special teams. Defensively, we need to tackle better and tackle more, we need to start blocking the plays from the opposition better and really just show that we are better than we are right now, because even with that win, we are nowhere near where we need to be, and we are not in a position to be competing, we are just not there right now and we have a long way to come and a long way to go".

The Lions head now back to face a divisional rival as they also look to end their road trip saga on a positive note, as they head to face the Tillamook Sharknado. The Sharknado are coming into the game off a close 10-9 loss to the Reasonable Lengths and will be the team now looking to snap a 3-game losing streak. Tillamook are also looking for a fifth-straight divisional victory, and the third straight against the Lions this week. The Sharknado have struggled offensively this season, with only two touchdowns so far, one to Hydrothermal Benediction and the other to Robert Powell, with Baconmaker sitting at 72.1% pass completion and only 678 yards (4.40 yards per attempt), where Chacon with the boost to his stats from last week is now at 61.9% pass completion and 740 yards (5.32 yards per attempt), and while the Lions have also only seen two touchdowns this season, there could be a lot of momentum coming into this game that could see a high score or a boring kick fest from the kickers.

The Lions will head into the game with few issues on the injury front, the only main concern is safety Douglas Dunham who looks set to miss out on the next couple of weeks with an arm injury, however, it looks likely that it may just be a one-week miss for Dunham, who has already headed back home to begin his recovery and hopefully fast-track his return, and his absence will see rookie Richard Reece stay in with the roster for another week, and concerns with Fred Pickney will see Steven Alvarado assume the mantle as the top running back, while it looks likely that Chacon will again be under center after a week of rumours that he would be rested for this game.

Game Prediction: Probably going to be a close one, the Lions might just scrap this one through... 3 point margin.

The Lions went back to their old ways, suffering a close 17-12 defeat to the Tillamook Sharknado, who extend their winning streak against the Lions to five games now (including the 2022 Wildcard Game victory) and consign Penrith to a lowly 1-4 record which sees the Lions sitting pretty much at the bottom of the league, only slightly higher than the Slammers and Prodigies who are yet to win a game this season. The Lions also drop to 0-2 in the division, searching for a divisional victory since Week 11 last season. Many commentators have said this week, the Lions lost that game on the fumbles, and with 2 fumbles (both lost), it would be the best outcome for the team, despite the victory. With Joe Chacon again finding it difficult to connect with his receivers, being intercepted twice and the team using rookie running back Steven Alvarado more as a receiver (100 receiving yards, only 56 rushing yards), the questions are certainly there as to what this team is up to, and where it is all going wrong.

There were some serious words being said in the corporate box of Lions Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar after the game, who looked very animated and frustrated, with several reporters overhearing comments that were made, which made it through to the league office. There were discussions over the play that the team has been showing and their performance, with some saying that the franchise failed to show any respect to Tillamook during the moments following the game. Following the game, the ownership released a short statement:-

"Following the defeat last weekend, there were comments made by Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar regarding the performance of the team. To some, these comments made them feel that it gave a disservice and discredit to the Tillamook Sharknado and its ownership. These comments were not meant in that way and the entire ownership apologises to the whole Sharknado franchise for any comments that may have been portrayed in that way. We respect the whole league and every single franchise, and while we are currently struggling on the field with our results, we are committed to the league and committed to the process of rebuilding our great franchise to compete"

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings was a bit more diplomatic and honest about the assessment of the team and the position that they are in right now:-

"We played alright, the fumbles hurt us. The interceptions hurt us, and Tillamook took full advantage of that. They deserve that respect and the respect of our whole franchise. We played alright, however, it wasn't good enough. We just did not do what we planned, what we should have done to make that game a win for us. A victory would have been great and we have seen that this season, but we have just not kept on playing for 60 minutes, we have just given up on some of the serious fundamentals that we should be doing much better. We need to get better at those fundamentals, and we need to get it done as soon as we can because we just can't give giving things up like this so quickly".

The Lions will have a tough ask to get that second victory as they head back home and have to face the two-time defending conference champions in the Les Republicains de Paris, who, despite a shock 23-10 loss to Cheesy Philly, are one of, if not the strongest side in the conference this season, conceding a low 8.4 points per game so far (second lowest, behind Nottingham). They are also the highest-scoring offense (108 points, 21.6 points per game) and with the Lions conceding just over 16 points a game, it may be a struggle to get any offense on the board if the Lions play as they have been.

Paris are also coming into the game with quarterback Mixolydian Fugue sitting at #2 in the most yards this season for quarterbacks, at 1,236 yards (5.57 yards per attempt) and will look to get those numbers even higher, as well as finding more touchdowns with Fugue leading the touchdown mark at 10 so far, meanwhile, Chacon will have to look at getting the offensive line to fire up, and another more sacks, with 12 already in the season, and only 2 touchdowns, this may be another tough game for fans to witness, the signs just don't look good for the Lions. Adding to the pain, both rookie defensive tackle Peter Gant and now tackle Thomas Wright have been ruled out of the game under the league concussion protocols and will be reassessed during the week, with the signs looking better for Gant than they do with Wright. Besides those two, there is no real major concerns, with only linebacker Miguel Logan set to miss at least the next four weeks with a leg injury.

Game Prediction: Yeah, this one is going to be tough. Paris will walk this one home, 21 points. A big victory for them.

The Lions have somehow taken the league into shock with an unbelievable 13-6 victory over Paris, who now have dropped two straight games, and many are now wondering if the Lions are finally over the hump and the rebuild is actually into positive territory, of if this game is just an outlier and Paris were unlucky to come away with the loss.

The Lions got away to a lighting start, leading 10-0 however, they once again let the opposition back in and had the game at 10-6 heading into the second half, however, some solid defence, forcing Paris into five punts and a fumble allowed the Lions to get the momentum back in their favour, and a 42-yard field goal just after the two-minute warning allowed the Lions to hold on for what could only be considered a gigantic victory, and in a season where many are now predicting the Lions to hold a top 5 pick, it may be just what the doctor ordered for them. Quarterback Joe Chacon actually had a solid performance, throwing for 119 yards and only getting sacked once for the second straight game, and also having his second game this season without an interception, it may be what is needed to kickstart the comeback, however, many are saying that it is already too little too late for the Lions this season.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings spoke about what a victory like this means for the franchise and for the players after everything that has been going on so far this season:

“Look, we are serious about where we want to have been this season and it just has not been that way. We have gone backwards, the players, the staff, the ownership knows this, we don’t deny that the rebuild is longer than we all hoped it would be, but we are strong through the hard times, we are still a team and those guys there are playing their hearts out, they are not giving up on every play, they are not going to give up until the final whistle. Be what it may, we will keep fighting each and every game”

The Lions now head off to face the Florence Fools in Week 8, a return matchup from Week 1, where they will try to get a first divisional victory of the season, but that may be a tall ask, and despite Florence coming into the game off the back of four straight losses themselves, they looked to be in much better shape heading into the game with the likes of running back Leeroy Jenkins currently averaging around 51 yards a game, compared to Fred Pickney at only 34 yards per game. Penrith will be looking for Steven Alvarado to bring even more firepower to the running game, following on from his 71 yards against Paris, despite still waiting for that first career touchdown. Receivers Mostly Harmless (183 yards) and Red Clifford (184 yards) will be looking for another solid game this week, and with the struggling offense of the Lions, it might struggle street once again, however, Brian Lecuyer has shown why the Lions picked him up again, sitting on 145 yards and with the most touchdowns for the team at the moment, with 2.

The defense also needs some solid improvements, with the likes of Paul Quick showing some slight improvements this year, already with 51 tackles, Urban Montaigne with 19 tackles and Douglas Dunham with 28. The defense does, however, need to pick up with getting the opposition stopped more and forcing more punts or fumbles, while the offense continues to struggle with finding the way into the end zone. If the defense can bring more of it to the opposition, the games might be close and low scoring, but the Lions may just have a chance to make something of this season.

The Lions will go into the game without Thomas Wright again, who was ruled out with his ongoing concussion, however, he was reportedly much closer this week than he was before and may be ready for Week 9. The only other two injury concerns for the team have been Miguel Logan who still looks set to miss at least the next month of football with his leg injury and Donnie Daugherty who will miss the next two to three weeks with turf toe. Other than that, the Lions are looking healthy and will head into a divisional game looking to get their season on the right track again, and hopefully get a second straight win, for the first time since Weeks 10 and 11 last season

Game Prediction: Lions to win this one, in a close one, probably by single digits, so let’s say 3 points.