http://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400951558
Boxscore.
http://www.detroitlions.com/media-center/video/recent-videos.html
Lions Game and Post-Game Webvideos.
That was offensive.
To be clear, that's pronounced uh-fence-iv. Let's use it in a sentence: Detroit's offense was downright offensive in a 27-24 loss Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field.
Sure, tight end Darren Fells caught two late touchdown passes to cut Carolina's lead to 27-24 with 3:22 left. They had a puncher's chance, especially with Matthew Stafford under center. After all, he's done this -- come back in the fourth quarter -- 29 times before.
But Stafford was also dreadful the first three quarters of the game, and so was the offense itself. That's why they trailed by 17 points so late in the game, and why they couldn't win even with 14 quick points down the stretch.
The Lions drove for a field goal on their first drive, and it would have been a touchdown if not for yet another Eric Ebron drop. They did get their touchdown two drives later when Zach Zenner plowed his way into the end zone for a 10-3 lead.
But then they punted, and then they punted again. Their next drive ended the first half -- then they fumbled it on the first play of the second half. Then they punted, turned it over on downs, and punted once again -- leaving them in a hole too deep to overcome.
They lost yardage on three drives during one six-play drive. Not three plays. Three drives. They did score a touchdown on a 4-yard pass to Fells with 5:46 left, then again on a 20-yarder that made it 27-24 with 3:28 left. Things got interesting. But Cam Newton found Kelvin Benjamin to pick up a third-and-9 on the ensuing possession, and with no way for Detroit to stop the clock, the game was over.
The Lions fell to 3-2 with the loss, with both defeats coming against good teams where the offense simply didn't do enough to keep apace. Here are some more observations from the loss:
Carolina opened the second half by driving 80 yards for a touchdown. Stafford countered by fumbling on his first snap. On his next series, he stumbled while moving in the pocket and went to the ground on third down. Detroit's yardage total on their four series sandwiching halftime: Minus-5. Stafford just hasn't been himself since Week 1. That's fine when the defense is beating up inferior opponents. But it didn't work against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, and it likewise didn't work against Newton and the Panthers. Detroit needs Stafford to compete with good teams, and Stafford hasn't been himself in a month now.
Stafford finished 23 of 35 passing for 229 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. His passer rating was actually pretty good -- 103.2 -- but so much of the damage was done so late, including both scores. He was sacked six times for the second straight week, and fumbled for the second straight week. And the offense stalled accordingly. After gaining 63 yards on their first series, they managed just 66 on their next eight combined.
Facing a fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter, and trailing by 17 points, the Lions decided to go for it. They lined up with Nick Bellore, a linebacker, and Zenner in the backfield. It was a look they'd run with success before. But it's also a look they had run, twice, the same way. Everyone in the building knew what the play was going to be, and that apparently includes the Panthers, because they smothered Zenner for a loss. Jim Bob Cooter was super popular in Detroit for a while there, because of his ability to sort out Stafford. But the offense has gone in the wrong direction four straight weeks now, more or less, and the playcalling was questionable at times against the Panthers.
Stafford appeared to suffer an upper right leg injury in the second half. He was evaluated by the medical team and got a tape job above the right knee, then later over his ankle and foot, too. He finished the game, but he's clearly hurting, too. Because he certainly wasn't moving well by the end of this one.
Matthew Stafford has been getting creamed.
He was sacked six times last week against Minnesota. And he was sacked six times on Sunday against Carolina. I know he has been extremely durable. I know he’s been sacked a lot in the past. But he won’t make it through the season if this keeps up
Ebron's season is dangerously close to going off the rails. He entered this game with two drops, which was more than all but five players in the league, and then put another on the ground. On the game's first series. On third down. In the end zone. The ball hit him in the numbers, and it didn't matter. He knew it right away, too, and so did the crowd, which began booing him. They even booed him when Detroit played a previously recorded video of him on the big boards. And then early in the fourth, with the offense desperately trying to come back, he dropped another one. And he was booed again, this time thunderously. He's lost right now.
A Lions tight end caught two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. It was not Ebron. You know this, because I already told you he caught them. Fells snagged four passes last week, a team-high at the position, and then scored twice late on a 4-yard pass and then a 20-yarder against Carolina. That's as many touchdown catches as Ebron has the last two years combined, and they turned a 17-point deficit into a 27-24 ballgame with 3:28 left. There's no question Ebron has the most ability, at least as a pass-catcher, at the position. There's also no question that Fells is playing better, at least right now. And in all facets of the game.
Jarrad Davis made his return. Boy, did he ever. He led the team on the field, then was the first man to Jonathan Stewart in the backfield on the defense's first play of the game. Tahir Whitehead was credited with the tackle, but like so many other plays, it was Davis that made it happen. He finished with eight tackles, including two for loss, and also defended a pass.
The Lions weren't nearly as good defensively, mostly because they didn't force a turnover for the first time this year, and also because they couldn't stop the tight end. Ed Dickinson caught five passes for 175 yards, which is absurd.
Hey Lions, look, there's the tight end. Why don't you cover him?
In the first half, on a third-and-short, Newton rolled left and lofted a pass to a wide open Ed Dickson. It was a fantastic play, one of several Dickson made on Sunday. In the first half, Dickson caught four passes for 152 yards.
So you would figure they would make some adjustments, right?
But in the third quarter, Newton dropped back and Dickson ran straight down the middle was wide open.
He found a slice of space between three defenders. He came down with a 23-yard catch, which set up another Carolina TD.
Late in the second quarter, the Panthers faced a third-and-7 at Detroit’s 43 and Newton hit receiver Devin Funchess (Michigan/Farmington Hills Harrison) over the middle of the field. Jarrad Davis and Quandre Diggs both came in to deliver a hit short of the sticks, but Funchess muscled his way through the tackles for a 9-yard gain to extend the drive. Five plays later, the Panthers cashed in on a 10-yard score from Funchess to seize the momentum heading into halftime and take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata went to the locker room late in the second quarter with an elbow injury. The Lions began the second half with Akeem Spence and rookie Jeremiah Ledbetter at the position, and Ngata rever returned. Spence played pretty well, though, including sacking Newton to force a punt with 4:21 left.
Injuries are a concern: Stafford gutted through an injury, hobbling a lot. Ezekiel Ansah had his finger looked at. And Haloti Ngata was out with an elbow injury. Things to watch over the next week.
Don Muhlbach played in the 201st game of his Lions career. That moves him past Wayne Walker into sole possession of third place on the franchise's all-time list. Next up: Dominic Raiola (219).
Devin Funchess played his high school ball up the road at Farmington Hills Harrison, and played his college ball further up the road at the University of Michigan. And during his homecoming, he had himself a game. Funchess finished with four catches for 58 yards, one of which scored a 10-yard touchdown against coverage that was tight like skinny jeans. That knotted up the score at 10-all, and Carolina never trailed again.
The Lions trailed 27-10 after three lackluster quarters, but rallied late as a hobbled Matthew Stafford threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Darren Fells.
Fells caught two passes, touchdowns of 20 and 4 yards for the Lions, who fell to 3-2 on the season.
Newton’s season-high passing day came against a Lions team that entered the day fourth in the NFL in scoring defense and had seven interceptions, tied for second most in the league.
Newton destroyed the Lions on Sunday, passing the ball, and shoveling the ball, and finding open players on the bootleg. He showed no signs of being distracted, after his controversial response to a female reporter's questions went viral earlier in the week. He passed for more than 300 yards and threw three touchdowns.
When the turnovers dry up, so does this offense.
The Lions have been relying on an aggressive defense to create turnovers, while using a safe offense, trying not to make any mistakes.
The formula was working, as long as that defense was creating opportunities.
But on Sunday afternoon, the Panthers flipped the script.
The turnovers dried up and Newton was fantastic. Meanwhile, the Lions waited too long to open up their offense. The Lions showed some life late,but it was a major mistake to wait so long to open it up.
The Lions had been playing with fire.
Against Minnesota, Stafford threw at least three passes that could have been picked off and he fumbled the ball but didn’t lose it.
On Sunday, Stafford fumbled twice and lost one of them.
How bad was the Lions’ offense on Sunday?
Their only touchdown in the first half came as a result of the Panthers’ mistakes, after the Panthers had a pair of face mask penalties and a pass interference.
Defensively, the Lions had their worst performance of the season. Atlanta may have scored more points, but the Falcons didn’t gouge Detroit the way Newton and Funchess and the tight ends did.
Then again, Newton and Funchess had something to prove, and both used the Lions to make their point. I’m not sure what it was, other than to expose the Lions as a mirage, a 3-1 team that had been had been more opportunistic than good.
Yes, this is a single loss. But they were pushed around on both sides Sunday in a way they hadn’t been so far this year.
It’s at least worth considering that the combined record of the teams the Lions had played was 7-9 entering Sunday. The Falcons had the lone winning record, at 3-1.
Time after time, they bit on Newton’s play-action rollouts. Or couldn’t cover Funchess and company slicing across the middle.
The two late touchdown drives that gave the Lions a chance should take the sting away a bit. At least it wasn’t a blowout.
Yet no late-game surge is enough to hide what’s obvious:
This team is a work in progress. Too conservative offensively. Too uneven up front.
For the last month, they’ve been able to hide those flaws. Or divert our attention from them with some spectacularly timed takeaways and playmaking.
Not this time. Not against a talented and driven team also trying to make a statement.
Stock report
Up: Darren Fells. For the second straight week, the backup tight end was a factor in the passing game and hauled in two touchdown catches of four and 20 yards in the fourth quarter.
Down: Eric Ebron. Where do the Lions go from here with Ebron? He dropped a touchdown pass on the opening drive and a fourth-quarter pass deep over the middle, both of which drew a loud chorus of boos. He finished the game with one catch for six yards.
Entering Sunday, Eric Ebron had 18 drops in his career -- most among tight ends in NFL since 2014 according to ESPN Stats & Information. Dropped a TD possibility on Detroit's first drive.
Where did the Lions’ offense go much of the game? After scoring on two of their three drives, they seemingly couldn’t get anything going and mustered just eight yards over their next three drives before halftime. Then in the second half, Detroit turned the ball over on two of its first three drives. A banged-up Matthew Stafford helped engineer a late comeback, but there’s plenty of blame to go around as receivers dropped passes and the offensive line gave up six sacks.
The Lions’ run game managed just 50 yards, with a team-best 31 by Ameer Abdullah.
Marvin Jones Jr. led all Lions wide receivers with six catches for 54 yards.
After forcing a league-high 11 turnovers through the first quarter of the season, they were unable to muster a single one against the Panthers.
They were bullied throughout the game by Cam Newton who threw for three touchdowns, two of which came against Darius Slay.
Though the unit did manage to harass Newton, notching three sacks, they allowed the Panthers to convert 7-of-16 third downs, including the game-clincher to Kelvin Benjamin.
The conservative playcalling was rough -- as were five straight drives of three-and-out or worse. The Lions need to start thinking about opening up the offense earlier. Stafford has one of the best arms in the game but they haven’t let him use it as much in favor of guarding against interceptions at all costs.
Key stat: The Panthers were penalized 11 times for 100 yards, but were able to overcome it. Two 15-yard facemask penalties and a defensive pass interference call set up Detroit’s first touchdown, but that was the extent of the damage.
Rookie watch: Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis returned to action after missing the last two weeks with concussion and neck injuries. Despite the loss, and the poor performance overall by the defense, Davis was solid. He recorded eight tackles, two for loss and defended a pass.
What was worst stat for the offense?
In six of their first eight possessions the offense failed to gain a first down. In those six possessions, the offense ran 16 plays and had a net gain of one yard. One yard? That’s unacceptable.
What was the worst stat for the defense?
It was the four catches for 152 yards that tight end Ed Dickson had – in the first half. And he added to it in the second half. Dickson is a solid, veteran tight end, but the way he got open against the Lions was as if it was a passing drill in training camp without the players wearing pads.
Q. Counting points: The Lions settled for a field goal after Ebron’s drop. A touchdown would have given them seven points, and they wound up losing by three. Is it fair to call that play the deciding factor?
A. It didn’t help, but there was too much football left for one play to lose the game. The Panthers also got a field goal after recovering a fumble on a sack of Stafford. It all adds up.
It’s time to admit this offense is a problem
The Lions have been winning games. So, naturally, we’ve all been distracted when it comes to the ineffectiveness of the Lions offense. Sunday, we saw everything come to a head.
The Lions offense looked stagnant all day long, going into the fourth quarter with 129 yards. That’s really bad, in case you didn’t know.
Matthew Stafford fumbled twice and was sacked six times. The run game was stuffed from the get-go, and the play calling all together was predictable, at best. Lions need to get this in gear immediately.
Eric Ebron is bad
I’ve held off on this for so long. I’ve fought and fought to defend Eric time after time. I’m not sure I can continue to do that after this game. Ebron failed to catch a momentum-starting touchdown in the first quarter. He then failed to catch a big pass in the fourth quarter that could have helped Detroit at least try to make a comeback.
I like Eric as a person. Most the time I have liked him as a player. But I find myself coming away from this game thinking the Lions should now move on from Eric.
The offensive line is not what we thought it would be
Matthew Stafford was sacked six times against the Vikings in Week 4. Here in Week 5e, the Panthers added six sacks of their own.
Couple that with the fact that this Lions run game is still not working for the Lions, and you have all the reason in the world to believe that all the money invested in this line may have been wasted. Either that or Taylor Decker is needed way more than we thought.
Darren Fells contiues to be a great signing
Fells had a great game against the Vikings in Week 4 and followed that up with another great game here against the Panthers. His two touchdowns helped the Lions nearly pull off another crazy comeback. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Lions use Fells a lot more going forward.
https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2017...w-stafford-ankle-thigh-hand-carolina-panthers
Lions injury update: Matthew Stafford beat up in loss to Panthers.
The Lions quarterback was limping in the locker room after the game.
POD
Are the Lions still a playoff team?
Yes, but that’s all. This game was a good barometer for where the Lions stand in the NFC hierarchy. Just like the game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Lions lost narrowly at home to another elite NFC team. This tells us the Lions are a good team, capable of trading punches with powerhouses. But when the judges’ scorecards are turned in after 12 rounds, the Lions won’t get the decision. They’ll make the playoffs, but they’ll need more than a few bounces to go their way and significant contributions from all three phases if they hope to win a game in the postseason.
The offense looked terrible for most of the day. What’s wrong?
Believe it or not, not a lot. Sure, the Lions had a series of bad drives and couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1. But the offense still scored 24 points and hung with the Panthers. The big difference was the defense, which struggled to contain the Panthers and didn’t manage to create a single turnover. It’s hard to accept this if you’ve watched Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, but the Lions offense is functioning as a complementary piece of the team. Without true outside deep threats, a dependable offensive tight end and a consistent run game, the offense can only do so much.
Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis, on how it felt playing again after missing two weeks: "It felt great, you know, it was awesome to be back. I love this game, I love playing with these guys, my brothers. Just to go out and be able to give everything I had just meant everything to me today. I knew that it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the field and I was just ready to be out there. I was chomping at the bit these past two weeks. Felt like a starved dog, you know, just sitting out there on the sideline not being able to do anything."
Defensive tackle Akeem Spence, on Cam Newton, and if he looked different: "No, same guy making the same throws. He just did a really good job in just keeping us off our spots and just making the right throws and having guys open down the field and just able to get it to them. Couple plays here and there that go the other way, I think this game would’ve came out different."
Receiver Marvin Jones Jr., on the offense: “We just have to do it. You know, there’s no way that you can just say, ‘OK, now we’re just going to go.’ You know, we just have to, we put in the preparation, we put in the time, so we just have to go on the field and do it early."
Tight end Darren Fells, on his role: “It’s just one of those things that if I get an opportunity, I’m just going to do what I can to make plays. But like I said, I’m not seeing that right now. I’m seeing what we need to do to get the W (next week).”
Safety Miles Killebrew on Cam Newton: He’s exactly what I expected. He’s a good athlete. Good quarterback. He had pretty good reads today and played a solid game.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, on his slight limp during the game: “Just, I’ll be all right. I feel like Coach (Caldwell) will handle all that stuff, talk to you guys about all that kind of stuff. But we just got to get into a rhythm earlier on offense. I wish I would have played better earlier in the game, but appreciate the effort our guys had."
Coach Jim Caldwell, on Stafford getting hurt: “Yeah, he’s a fighter. He’s tough. We’ll see where he is.”
Lions coach Jim Caldwell on how his offense can be so inconsistent at times: "That's the thing about football that you just don't quite understand, you can come out some games and you're on fire and then after a while you cool off and there's a lot of ebb and flows to our game. There are no rhymes or reasons to sometimes how that happens. What you have to be able to do is hang in there long enough, particularly when things aren't going well for you, where you just don't completely lose contact, where you can't get back in the game. I think our guys were able to do that."
Caldwell on offensive coordinator, Jim Bob Cooter, and the game he called: “I think that oftentimes in this business that’s kind of the way it is. When you’re not performing well there’s always going to be some second-guessing. You guys will have about 15 or 20, and that’s kind of the way it is. You don’t win, you’re going to get second-guessed. That’s how it is. We’ve been second-guessed before. We have a lot more football ahead of us, so we’ll get it straightened away. That’s my job. I have to do a better job.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera on the Lions' defense: "They are a fast football team. If you don’t got a crease right now, you’re not going downhill, they’re going to pursue to the ball. That’s really the one of the things that happened. They run very well, they are a very fast football team. Again, if you can block them and get the crease and get into it, you’re going to turn in a couple of big plays. If not, they’re going to make big plays because they run very well to the ball.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...ions-grades-line-coaches-fall-flat/106453514/
Justin Rogers’ Lions grades: O-line, coaches fall flat.
Detnews
http://www.detroitlions.com/news/li...-in-loss/6c64e449-b2ae-41b0-adf2-7c1a4d46545a
FOUR DOWNS: Stafford under pressure in loss.
Lions.com
https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2017/10/8/16444640/detroit-lions-vs-carolina-panthers-stock-report
Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers stock report.
The Lions came in prepared for the first couple of drives, but the wheels came off quickly and they never recovered.
POD
