Team Grades: Lions Come Apart Against Patriots
By Chris Morgan
If nothing else, the last two weeks of NFL action for the Detroit Lions has been a harsh reminder that, no matter how good of a start to the season they've had, they still are not on the top tier of the leagues. First, last week the Lions lost to the Arizona Cardinals, although it was a close game. They couldn't even say that about this week's loss to the New England Patriots. The Patriots dominated the Lions from the get go, and ending up winning by a score of 34-9. It is far and away the Lions' worst game of the season, and they have a short week at hand to rebound before their traditional Thanksgiving day game. Here are the grades for Detroit's tough loss.
Offense: The Lions' offense has struggled quite a bit this season, and that was the case here once again. No Lions player managed to get into the end zone, leaving the team to settle for three field goals. They only gained 335 yards of total offense against a defense that has been middling this season.
Joique Bell was limited to 48 yards on 19 carries, and he did nothing through the air. Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson were both targeted 10 times, and both only had four catches, but at least Tate took those receptions and turned them into 97 yards, while Johnson was held to 58 yards. The offense is a bit shorthanded, but that's not an excuse for performing like this. Grade: C
Quarterback: Maybe Stafford was replaced by some sort of exact double after the season opener against the New York Giants. That feels as plausible as anything at this point. Stafford struggled throwing the ball, going 18-for-46 for 264 yards and an interception. He ran for 18 yards. That doesn't salvage anything, especially since he was also sacked twice. He needs to improve, or the Lions could replicate their collapse at the end of last season. Grade: D
Special Teams: The Lions may be longing for the days when their kicking game was their only real issue. Prater went 3-for-4 in this game to account for every point the Lions were able to score. Sam Martin punted alright, but the Lions also gave up an 81-yard kick return to Danny Amendola. Special teams wasn't the problem here, but they weren't exactly able to save the game either. Grade: B
Defense: All season, at least the Detroit Lions have been able to rely on their defense. Even that failed them in this game. Sure, the Patriots have an excellent offense, but they still gave up 34 points and 439 total yards. Tom Brady threw for 349 yards, and the Lions were unable to sack him even once, and they only hit him four times. James Ihedigbo did have an interception, and Ndamukong Suh had three tackles for loss, but this still remains the team's worst defensive performance of the season. Grade: C+
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Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .