There are multiple teams in the NFL that are suffering from mid-season slumps. The Bills, Chargers, Ravens, and Lions are the most prominent cases. In the cases of the Chargers and Ravens, it would appear that the talent is there, but the execution isn’t. The Bills seem to have been overachieving until this point of the season. The Lions, however, are a confusing case. They seem to be talented, but not to the point of being elite. They seem to have great, high energy coaches, but that’s not stopping their skid. The various elements of success all seem to be present in Detroit, but for some reason, the wheels are falling off the wagon.
The Lions got off to a quick start, winning their first 5 games. Many of those wins were second half comeback victories. The Lions are continuing to play the exact same type of first-half football they’ve played all season, but their second half magic seems to have dried up, and it’s shown on the scoreboard.
Their current nightmare began in week 6. That game was an enticing matchup between two of the best up-start teams in the league. The San Francisco 49ers were visiting Detroit in what turned out to be one of the best games of the year. No one remembers the game, however, as that was the game that Jim Harbaugh got too excited and about knocked over Jim Schwartz when the coaches met at midfield immediately following the game. The loss was certainly tough to swallow, but it was a close, competitive game. At that point, there was little doubt the Lions would bounce back.
The next blow came the following week when the Lions hosted the Atlanta Falcons. Again, the game was a highly contested matchup between two of the most talented teams in the NFC. Again, the Lions came up just short, losing 23-16 in a game that Matthew Stafford threw for less than 200 yards. To put it in simplistic terms, the Falcons’ defense simply outplayed and outmatched the Lions’ high powered attack.
Luckily for the Lions, the following game came against a very poor Broncos team. The Lions went to Denver and returned to their style of play, winning the game 45-10. The win was especially significant as it was the Lions last game before their bye week. The Lions were back on track and looking good.
Then there was the Bears. I don’t want to re-hash the entire game, especially considering it happened just a day ago, but it was ugly. On a day that the Broncos won, completing just 2 passing attempts; it goes unnoticed that the Bears completed just 9 of their passes for a modest 123 yards. No touchdowns, no interceptions. How then, can a team with so few yards win a game 37-13?
Defense.
The Lions, to this point of the season, have been saved by their offense. That luck is beginning to run out. They’ve lost 3 out of their last 4 games, scoring less than 20 points in all of those losses. It doesn’t take Stephen Hawking’s IQ to realize that the Lions are built on scoring a lot of points and rushing the opposing quarterback, and that’s not what is happening right now. On Sunday, Stafford threw the ball 63 times. Let that sink in for a minute. Of those 63 passes, he connected on 3 touchdown passes. Unfortunately, 2 of them were Chicago touchdowns. Let’s set aside the fact that the Lions’ special teams did them no favors and focus on their ailing offense. That’s the Lions’ bread and butter, and they’ve been falling flat on their face over their past 4 games. That needs to change, and soon.
From here, Detroit has to pick up the pieces as they host the Panthers this weekend. It’s a game that I believe could be a trap waiting to happen. The Lions face the Packers on Thanksgiving, and it would be so easy for them to overlook the Panthers that I think it might just happen. Following that Packers game, they play the Saints, another team that is likely to beat up on the Lions’ defense. At this point, it looks likely that the Lions will be 7-5 after this stretch of games. That’s not where they need to be, and there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix for this team. It really is all about execution, and that’s something they don’t seem to be willing to work on.
I hate to start hating on such a great story line in the NFL, but the Lions are reverting to the same old Lions we know and love. There’s still time to fix their problems, but the hopes of making the playoffs may turn out to have been a mirage all along.
