...on third and long.

The red zone is arguably where your QB's arm matters the least. Scoring in the red zone is primarily about 3 things:

1. Power run game, your ability to get low and push the defense back
2. Big receivers who can make contested catches.
3. Creative play calling (pick routes, play fakes, misdirection, etc.)

And on those fronts, they:

1. Got abused by the PITT D-Line and LB's and were stuffed on the run.
2. Stafford threw a beauty that only a 6'7" Pro Basketball player could reach, which Fells did, and promptly dropped.
3. Were incredibly predictable and gave Stafford nowhere to go with the ball.

I'm putting this loss mostly on the lack of a power run game. They have 4 backs who are mostly the same guy. Shifty scat backs who can juke guys in space but can't gain yards after contact or maneuver through a tight hole. I thought Asiata was a lock to make the team in this role, but instead they cut him, cut the fullback, put Nick Bellore in at FB fooling no one, and get crushed.

Jim Bob Cooter owns this one too, as there is just nothing innovative about this offense.

The only part of the red zone offense I put on Stafford is there is a real good chance he audibled into that garbage draw play that lost them 2 yards late.

We have no run game. Stafford is getting paid millions. He has to produce for us to win. Last year we were a 7-9 team that ran hot. Now we are a 8-8 team that’s running bad.

Either way. I’m done this year.

I think they are still likely to finish 10-6 this year, and maybe win the division.

The Ravens are possibly the toughest matchup left on the schedule.

The division is still winnable. GB sucks without Rodgers, and the Bears are a Dumpster fire. Minny is running hot and we already have a win in their house.

The lack of a decent run game is more glaring than I thought it would be, as running was supposed to be easier behind Lang/Wagner.

Made this take after the Quinn hire and I'm sticking with it. He inherited a dumpster fire with some talent sprinkled on top of it. While we're only 7 games into this year, I still think they are a better team than last year.

His only major miscue so far was bringing in Greg Robinson to replace Decker. I hope he canned whoever scouted him, because if one player is primarily responsible for them being 3-4 instead of 5-2 it's probably G-Rob.

He's addressed the teams two biggest weaknesses so far in LT and MLB. I think RB is next. They could use more depth on O-Line as well as it seems like the most injured position. I'm not sure if that's a uniquely Lions thing, or a problem NFL wide, but I can imagine it would be tough to stay healthy when you collide with a 300 lbs. tank 60 times per game.

Team is elite again

Big win. Had to have it.

Beat the hapless Browns next week, if the defense can stay healthy through next week they should give young Mitchell some problems. Whitehead and Slay played huge tonight.

Rattle off 2 more wins here and Thanksgiving could be for the division.

God damn that felt good. Stafford playing a big game in a game we had to have.

Makes last weeks meltdown vs the Steelers so much worse.

We should finish 10-6. If we beat Minnesota as a part of that, we are division champs.

That first fumble was a joke.

That win was nice man. Gotta like are chances this year with the best qb in the division.

How about Marvin Jones? Not a bad deep ball replacement for Calvin for half the price.

Ultimately this team's total lack of a run game will continue to be its downfall unfortunately.

I'm not really sure why our run game is so pitiful. I'd guess that besides Lang, we don't have a single guy that is a plus run blocker when Decker is out, and Fells is our only good blocking TE, and he's been called into action to be our best passing TE as well.

Ultimately I think it's possible to get by in today's NFL without a solid run game, but I don't think we're built in a way to do it. It requires either an approach like the Patriots where they have reliable 4-7 yard routes that they can complete at 75%+, or you need a QB with more escapability than Stafford. GB and SEA have been highly competitive with a lack of a running game, but Rodgers and Wilson were much better at avoiding sacks than Stafford has been this year.

I'm prob gonna go to the game in Chicago. Handle your business the next 2 weeks and we're back in the race.

Loaded up on winning the division at 3:1. Let's goooo

I like those odds. Minny seems to be running hot lately. They don't seem as good as their record to me. GB has always looked like a sub .500 team with an MVP QB, so no surprise there. Chicago isn't even worth talking about.

The question on the run game is whether it's a true "fatal flaw" or not. You don't have to be great or even good in every aspect of the game to win a super bowl, you just have to not be so bad at one aspect that it becomes a liability that other teams can easily exploit. That's been the Lions the last 5 years or so. They've had at least one major flaw (like last years short pass defense) that keep them from taking it to the next level.

The line not being great run blockers is part of it, but it's not like this line is garbage. Decker, Wagner, and Lang are all pretty good. Swanson and Glasgow aren't that good, but they don't suck on the same level Greg Robinson does.

I still think the backs own a lot of this. This isn't my area of expertise, but looking at the most successful running backs in modern history, key attributes seem to be vision and breaking tackles. None of the 4 backs the Lions have trotted out this year fit that mold. They are all of the shifty quickfooted tough to tackle in the open field variety. However running north south between the tackles, they miss lanes and go down too easily. There's been some calls for maybe Tion Green to get some snaps. At this point I really don't think it can hurt. We know what the four guys they've tried this year are capable of behind this line, and it's not much. There's literally almost nothing to lose from trying someone new. They kept him on the 53 man for a reason, and I'd like to think it wasn't just as a depth piece in case of injury.

At least we are in the easy half of the schedule now. The one thing this team has been consistently doing is beating weak teams. They should finish 10-6 or so.

Decker is off PUP. Can't overstate how huge that is.

Decker and Golladay are back, but Lang and Ansah are out. Lang has been the only o-lineman playing at a high level this year. The good news is, we're playing the Browns. I don't think they could've scored more than 13 vs. last years defense.

Cleveland's gameplan has to be balls to the wall on the pass rush and hope to get to Stafford and bait him into making mistakes. D-Line and CB are like the two areas their team doesn't suck, so if they have any hope of winning, they'll have to bring pressure. Stafford will need to get rid of the ball quick today, and challenges the linebackers in pass coverage. I'm looking for Abdullah, Riddick, Ebron, and Fells to be productive in the pass game. Ebron was basically built to shred a team like the Browns, so now is his chance.

well they covered and won i guess.

Yep not a great game. Stafford looked sluggish for 2.5 quarters, but still picked up a relatively stress free win.

This team has a really hard time trying to stop the run and the pass. While they didn't do either particularly well against Cleveland, it's weird how little they were stacking the box. The Cleveland O-Line was getting to the second level pretty quickly and just tossing Davis and Whitehead around like ragdolls. Ziggy is likely to miss another week, and while his reputation is pass rusher, he's a pretty effective run stopper.

The good news is the entire offense is expected to be healthy for the first time this season. Lang is still listed on the injury report, but has been a full participant in practice. I think that means he's cleared concussion protocol, but I'm not positive. Chicago is pretty beatable. I'm feeling a comfortable road win this week. Bears 17, Lions 30.

Bears take note: that is why you pay 12 million for a kicker! Its called FOOTball for a reason!

What an all around terrible game. Our defense is really bad right now. Lucky win against a horrible team. Need more luck next week.

12-4 still in play

They need Ziggy back, plus one more DT, and then a running back who doesnt drop to the turf on fisrt contact.

Season on the line on Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, even if we beat Minnesota, I'm not sure 3-2 in our last 5 will be good enough to win the division because it requires Minnesota going 2-3 and their schedule is not that tough.

I agree that we need to go 5-1 (and not have the Vikings be the 1), but I think that's very achievable. Nobody on the schedule scares me (except ourselves).

12-4