There was plenty of blame to go around in the Detroit Lions‘ crushing NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but many people are pointing fingers at Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds.
Reynolds had a pair of costly drops during the Lions’ 34-31 defeat, including a perfectly placed pass from Jared Goff on a fourth-and-two that would have set up Detroit at the 49ers’ 20-yard line in the third quarter. He also dropped a pass on third-and-nine that resulted in the Lions having to punt.
The 28-year-old was asked about his miscues this week, and he shrugged them off.
“(Expletive) happens, man,” Reynolds said, via Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “I know what kind of player I am. Didn’t want to drop them. (Expletive) happens. I just — do I want those back? Of course, but I can’t and I’ve just got to work this offseason and be prepared for the moment when it comes.”
Reynolds logged one catch for 25 yards on four targets in the loss to San Francisco.
“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 enjoyed an impressive season as a whole, hauling in 40 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns and setting himself up nicely to earn a decent contract in free agency this spring.
Of course, right now, Reynolds’ mind is on the Lions’ collapse, saying everyone is “pointing fingers cause everybody knows there’s a lot that went into the” defeat.
Detroit led the Niners by a score of 24-7 at halftime, only to see the 49ers score 27 unanswered points after the break.
We’ll see if Josh Reynolds ends up returning to the Lions for some unfinished business this March.