How Calvin Johnson's Injury Will Affect Lions Offense

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the Detroit Lions aren't going to be as good on offense if Calvin Johnson continues to be hobbled with a bum ankle. No offense in the NFL is going to be as effective as it would be if the best wide receiver in the league wasn't reduced to decoy status. 

So the question for the Lions isn't whether they'll be worse off until Johnson is healthy again; rather, it's the degree to which they'll suffer in that time period that is in question. 

Megatron's stat lines the past two weeks are eerily similar. Last week, he caught two passes on two targets for 12 yards. This week, it was one catch on one target for seven yards. And Johnson had to leave the game, per SportsCenter on Twitter:

What was different, however, was how the rest of the offense fared. 

In Week 4, the Lions totaled 360 yards (272 in the air) and scored 24 points, beating the New York Jets 24-17. In Week 5, however, the Lions limped to just 263 yards (194 through the air), losing 17-14 to the Buffalo Bills.

Of course, it should be noted that Alex Henery missed all three of his field-goal attempts in this contest. If he made even one, the Lions might have come away with the win. Suffice to say, quarterback Matthew Stafford and company put the team in position to earn the victory. The irony was not lost on Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports:

Wetzel, of course, was referencing long-time Lions kicker Jason Hanson. He's not walking through that door any time soon, unfortunately. 

It's hardly surprising that the team struggled more against Buffalo, however. The Jets have a poor secondary and are susceptible to a downfield passing attack. Both Golden Tate and Jeremy Ross beat them down the field on passing plays, and the Lions were able to win with their passing attack and defense. 

Against a mediocre pass defense, Stafford is good enough to beat teams with his arm. His has good enough weapons outside of Megatron—Tate, a slew of tight ends—to move the ball through the air. 

The problem comes when Stafford faces a defense that is either solid in the secondary or can generate a pass rush without needing to blitz everyone. And on Sunday, Buffalo was able to sack him six times and hit him four more times, all coming from the defensive line. It also deflected five of his passes. As you might imagine, Stafford was rarely comfortable in the pocket.

Pressure isn't so hard to beat when you have a mammoth, athletic freak who you can simply lob the ball toward knowing he'll likely come down with the grab. Stafford didn't have that option on Sunday.

Nor did he have a running game he could lean on. Joique Bell was unable to play, and worse, Reggie Bush had to leave the game himself, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). The Lions finished with just 69 rush yards.

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So if Bush misses time as well or is hobbled, the two players that create the most mismatches in the passing game—Johnson against overmatched corners, Bush against overmatched linebackers—are now less than 100 percent or might be out of action entirely.

And worse, the Lions don't have a great running game to begin with—they're averaging just 87.3 rushing yards per game—and now have a pretty beat-up backfield, though Bell should be back in action for Week 6.

Without Johnson at 100 percent, it's hard to see how this team will effectively move the ball. But all is not lost. 

In the next three weeks, the Lions play the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. That's the Vikings team that just gave up 42 points to the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons defense that has given up 71 points in the past two weeks and the Saints defense that has held one opponent to 25 points or fewer this season.

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So if there was a time for Johnson to be hobbled, perhaps it is now. The Lions face three opponents with pretty weak defenses the next three weeks and then get a bye. Granted, the Falcons and Saints both have formidable offenses, but the Lions defense has proved to be up to the task thus far this season.

In other words, despite an offense with two hobbled playmakers, and one who is averaging a pitiful 3.1 yards per carry in the running game, the Lions should be able to move the ball over the next three weeks. Players like Tate, Bell and Eric Ebron are going to have to step up, but with Stafford under center—erratic as he can be—all is not lost in Detroit. 

Not yet, anyway.

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