Detroit Lions: 5 Factors in Loss vs. Arizona Cardinals

It was the Detroit Lions game to lose Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

And they did.  

In Detroit’s 25-21 loss against the Cardinals, the Lions held an eight-point lead at midway through the third quarter and then went on to lose by four.

The Lions managed just seven points in the second half and could not eclipse 100 yards in the second 30 minutes of the game.

It is hard to win a game where you do not have any real production in the second half of a one-possession game. Coach Jim Schwartz will have to address that before the Lions battle a suspect, and 0-2, Washington Redskins squad in Week 3.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, here are five reasons Detroit could not come away with the win.

David Akers

It’s been 21 years since the title “kicker” has not been followed by Jason Hanson in Detroit. David Akers has some big shoes to fill—no pun intended.

Akers spent the last two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and struggled in 2012 to kick it through the uprights, connecting on just 69 percent of his kicks.

He has not started off well with the Lions either.

Missing two of your first four field goals won’t win many fans in Detroit.

Yes, one was blocked, so Akers was not completely at fault, but the 52-yard kick he missed in the first quarter hurt the Lions in the long run.

There are not many kickers who can replace Hanson’s body of work. However, that won’t be a suitable excuse for Akers during his stay in Detroit.

Penalties

Apparently, Ndamukong Suh’s speech prior to the season has had no effect on the Lions defensive players.  

First, it was the boneheaded cheap shot. Then, it was a ridiculously obvious pass interference.  

The Lions had eight penalties costing them 101 yards—not the kind of 100-yard game you want.

A nice chunk of those 101 yards came on a pass-interference call on Lions cornerback Bill Bentley. Arizona wide receiver Andre Roberts was blanketed and smothered by Bentley.

Regrettably, much of it was illegal and gave the Cardinals a free 31 yards. 

That penalty later allowed a Rashard Mendenhall rushing touchdown—the one that put the Cardinals in the driver’s seat for good.

In Week 1, the Lions escaped Minnesota with a win, despite the silly mistakes. Week 2, however, those penalties resulted in a loss.

Errors will have to be omitted against Washington in Week 3 for the Lions to avoid going 1-2.

Calvin Johnson

Now before you yell “What?!” and ask “How was Calvin Johnson responsible for their loss?"  

Let me explain.

He wasn’t the problem—per se. When Johnson does well, the Lions do not.  

According to stats compiled from Pro-Football-Reference.com, since 2011, (excluding one playoff game), in the 20 games that "Megatron" has went over 100 yards, the Lions lost 12 of those.

Who knows what weird mumbo-jumbo goes with Johnson going over 100 yards and negative results—but the numbers don’t lie.

Of course, Matthew Stafford is no fool—Johnson’s targets are not going to decrease because of this; however, it does have some substance.

While Johnson is possibly the Lions' best player, the offense will have to manage to find balance on offense as well as with Johnson.

Reggie Bush Injury

It might be hard to find an efficient way to distribute the ball on offense with Reggie Bush getting banged up.

After a stellar first week, Bush was injured early against the Cardinals after taking a helmet to the knee. While Bush shouldn’t be out long, it certainly hindered Detroit Sunday.

The Lions did not score on offense after Bush went out with his injury. That goes to show how much his presence changes Detroit’s offense.

Bush dislocated his finger and hurt his groin in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings and now has added another injury to that list.

Stafford and the Lions offense won’t survive without Bush’s presence, so hopefully, this injury doesn’t keep him out in Week 3.

Lack of Production

The well went dry after halftime.

Detroit managed just 90 yards in the second half, zero offensive touchdowns, a blocked field goal and three punts.

Can’t win games with those numbers.

With the personnel Detroit has, a second half like that is inexcusable.

The Lions didn’t come out of the tunnel with the same mentality as the first half. Arizona was able to outplay Detroit on both sides of the ball throughout the second half and managed to steal a game from the Lions.

While the Lions were lucky to only lose by four, it cannot be an expectation to win games with second-half numbers that they put up against Arizona. The clock will have to be managed better in Week 3, and the play-calling will need to improve.