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TIM AND MIKE: Week 3 observations

Prater range, 4th & verrry long: Kicker Matt Prater makes his living with his foot, and the Lions get dividends by the yard. He has expanded rules for when a field-goal attempt is out of range. Four field goals Sunday made him 6-for-6 in the first three games. Four from 50-yards plus covered 55, 56, 57 and 58 yards. The combined distance of his six field goals is 301 yards – an average of 50.167 yards per kick. – *Mike O'Hara

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Inconsistent performance: The Lions are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to tight end Eric Ebron. Ebron shows flashes of talent – like he did last week in New York – but then will have a performance like he did Sunday with two key drops in the fourth quarter. He caught just two of his seven targets Sunday. Ebron has to find a way to become more consistent on a week-to-week basis. He remains the best receiving threat the Lions have at the position. Darren Fells is more of a blocker, and rookie Michael Roberts played just nine snaps. Somehow, Ebron has to find better consistency. – Tim Twentyman

Ground out: The Lions continued to try to run the ball, but without a lot of success. They gained 52 yards on 17 called runs for running backs -- just over three yards per run. Going into Monday night's Dallas-Arizona game, the Lions were one of five teams that had played three games and did not have a rushing touchdown. However, the Lions ranked 17th in the league with an average of 97 yards per game. – Mike O'Hara

Missing rusher: Ziggy Ansah was obviously going to get some attention from the Falcons' offense after his three-sack performance a week ago against the Giants. The Falcons double teamed Ansah from time to time, and did the usual chips and rubs, all of which was extremely effective. Ansah played half of Detroit's defensive snaps (33) and didn't finish with an official stat. Nothing. He wasn't even credited with a quarterback hurry by Pro Football Focus. It's not often we see a player of Ansah's caliber completely shut out in a game. Three of Pro Football Focus' top five grades for the Falcons in this game went to offensive linemen, including left tackle Jake Matthews. – Tim Twentyman

Worth every penny: Right guard T.J. Lang continues to prove he was worth every penny Lions general manager Bob Quinn paid him in free agency this offseason. Lang didn't allow a single pressure in 53 snaps, and was good in the run game. He and right tackle Rick Wagner have been good on the right side of Detroit's offensive line. – Tim Twentyman

Lending a hand: TJ Jones has produced in his limited role at wide receiver. Playing 15 of the 70 offensive snaps Sunday, Jones caught three passes on three targets for 63 yards. In three games, he has five catches out of seven targets for 95 yards. His high snap count in the first three games is 19 in Game 1. – Mike O'Hara

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