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The Detroit Lions have made the playoffs once this century.
When they did so, in 2011, it was largely because of the sheer explosiveness of Matthew Stafford and his offense.
The Lions O could be counted on most every week to put up close to 30, and often saw that total climb into the 40s. Stafford threw for 5,000+ yards and 41 touchdowns.
The team surely had its flaws and didn’t make a peep in the playoffs, but they weren’t losing too many games because of an inability to move the football.
It’s been just a few short years, but my, how things have changed.
The Lions could not put the ball into the end zone even once Sunday against the league-best Arizona Cardinals. Two measly field goals and an unsatisfying loss to a team playing without its quarterback and emotional leader.
And unfortunately, such ineptitude was nothing out of the ordinary.
Consider this. Spanning the last four first halves the Lions have played, they have been able to score just one touchdown (against Miami last week).
Three first-half points against the Saints, zero against the Falcons, and six against the Cards.
What happened to this once-dominant unit?
Not The Same Stafford
For whatever reason, Stafford doesn’t look like the same guy. In 2011, he was confident and freewheeling. When the offense stepped on the field, you were fairly confident they would get a drive going, likely ending with a scoring strike to Calvin Johnson or the underrated Tony Scheffler/Brandon Pettigrew tight end duo (they combined for 11 TDs that year).
Nowadays, when Stafford’s unit takes over, you start counting in your head how many yards it will take to get into field goal range. That’s as far as this group can go.
From the standpoint of overall record and standings, it’s not time to panic. The Lions have a sterling 7-3 mark and are still tied for the division lead.
But the play of Stafford, and the offense as a whole, is very troubling.
Entering 2014, the sky seemed to be the limit for this crew. First round pick Eric Ebron was being added to an already loaded group of pass-catching targets.
Yet, the rocket ship has never really been able to get off the ground. And Ebron has proven to be about as useful as a ripped pair of socks.
Same Old Story?
There is a reason Lions fans get frenzied after a loss like this. It’s because we know how the rest of the story has played out in the past.
In 2012, the Lions were 4-4 at the halfway point. Then they lost eight straight.
Last year, it was a 6-3 start, then a 1-6 free fall into oblivion.
With a near-impossible trip to New England looming this week, it’s hard not to let that feeling of impending doom settle in your stomach. It’s like watching the end of a sad movie.
You’re hoping it will end differently, that somehow things will turn out okay. But that’s not how it works. The Lions always falter down the stretch, and Mrs. Doubtfire never gets the much-deserved custody of those kids.
There’s one outcome from this Patriots game that would leave me feeling encouraged, and it doesn’t necessarily have to result in a W.
Just score some points.
In the first quarter, and on through the next three. Get to double digits by halftime, and end the afternoon with 21+. Maybe even 30, something the Lions haven’t done since Week 1.
It would let us know that this offense isn’t completely without a pulse. Just that it’s been taking a very long nap.
The boulder starts rolling down the hill faster for this organization than any other in pro sports. One loss becomes two becomes six, and next thing you know, Daunte Culpepper is starting games on half a leg and I’m in the stands next to my friend Benjie wearing a paper bag over my head.
The dud in Arizona can merely be a bump in the road, or the opening stanza to another three act tragedy.
It’s on Stafford, Megatron, and the rest to figure it out. Before it’s too late.
