Time for Lions to say goodnight
The Detroit Lions can hear the bells going off in the distance. The clock has struck midnight on this 2015 version, only three weeks into a season that follows an 11-5 campaign from a year ago.
On Sunday Night Football, Detroit opened its home slate against the Denver Broncos. Already sitting at 0-2 after losses to the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings, the Lions desperately needed to play flawless football and emerge victorious. Apparently, Detroit forgot about taking care of the football or blocking, giving away three turnovers while allowing four sacks and many more pressures.
In the final analysis, the Lions were in the game all night but lost, 24-12. Detroit could not consistently move the football against Denver’s rugged defense, partially because the Broncos are very solid, and partially because the Lions missed ample assignments.
All that matters is that Detroit is sitting at 0-3 and tied with the Chicago Bears for the basement of the NFC North. The Green Bay Packers play at home on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs and are already 2-0. The Vikings took care of business, 31-14, against San Diego, putting them at 2-1. To really add another headache, the Lions next face the Seattle Seahawks on the road before coming home to face the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.
The Lions were thought by many to be contenders once more in the NFC North thanks to an offense led by Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Golden Tate. Instead, Detroit has no ability to pass-protect or run the football, leaving Stafford to take huge hits while his prime targets have no opportunity to get open down the field.
Detroit does not have easily fixable problems. The offensive line is perfectly healthy but a complete mess. The rushing attack is barely existent, with Detroit gaining 28 yards on 19 carries against the Broncos. The week before, the Lions watched as Stafford was their leading rusher.
On defense, the unit will be aided when linebacker DeAndre Levy comes back into the fold, but he won’t help the pass rush or the cornerbacks. Darius Slay is an affront to football, consistently playing too far off his man and getting beat. Levy will make the defense better, but only slightly. Without Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley eating up double-teams, the Lions simply don’t have the horses to create chaos up front.
At 0-3 with plenty of fatal flaws and playing a brutal schedule, the Lions can be forgotten about. Detroit still needs to face Arizona, Seattle, Kansas City, Green Bay twice and Minnesota. This current incarnation will have trouble winning more than one or two of those contests.
It have been 58 years since the Lions last won an NFL championship. It appears that drought is headed for 59 years in short order.
