Detroit's Recent Losses Show How Far the Lions Still Have to Go

The Detroit Lions are not a bad football team. However, if you've only seen them play in the last two weeks, you could easily be forgiven for thinking otherwise. 

A competitive 14-6 loss in Arizona gave way to a crushing (score) loss in New England. Detroit was outclassed by the probable No. 1 playoff seeds in both conferences in the last two weeks—a discouraging blow for a 7-4 team that still harbors very legitimate playoff aspirations. 

Detroit is not far away, even after the humbling losses. The difference between where the Lions are and where they need to be lies in the difference in those two games.

Here's the cold reality: Arizona and New England are better than Detroit. Yet the Lions were not as good as they could have been, or should have been, in both games. 

"

Patriots racking up penalties, have dropped easy passes, losing the turnover battle, yet still running Lions out of the gym.

— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 23, 2014"

The Patriots often played sloppily, making the sorts of mistakes that open the door for an upstart team to take advantage. Detroit couldn't walk through that door. 

The offense is the primary culprit, but it's far from the only guilty party. A unit with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Joique Bell and Matthew Stafford coordinating the action should never be as ineffective as this group has been the last two weeks.

"

This Detroit offense has been such a fantastic festival of fail today. Everyone seems to be either hurt or confused.

— Aaron Schatz (@FO_ASchatz) November 23, 2014"

The injuries certainly have played a role, though it's not the more celebrated absence of Reggie Bush that has had the most impact. Offensive line injuries have taken a major toll. The latest came on the very first play in New England:

"

Riley Reiff hurt on the first play. Cornelius Lucas in at LT.

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 23, 2014"

Lucas is an undrafted rookie from Kansas State. The starting right tackle (LaAdrian Waddle) is also an undrafted free agent from 2013. Both proved in this game why they were not one of the 610 players selected in either draft. 

Both the Patriots and Cardinals smartly attacked the weak links. Arizona set the tone with plays like this one.

NFL Game Rewind

The line spacing effectively isolates Alex Okafor in space against Waddle on the right edge. Waddle has struggled with sliding wide all season, and here Arizona sets him up in a situation designed to expose his weakness.

NFL Game Rewind

Okafor charges up the field right off the snap. He's not even trying to veer inside until he catches Waddle between steps as the tackle frantically tries to stay between him and Matthew Stafford. It's an easy sack after that. 

Another example comes on the defensive side of the ball. As soon as nickelback Cassius Vaughn entered the game, opposing quarterbacks Drew Stanton and Tom Brady saw the bull's-eye squarely on his back. 

In Arizona, Stanton found great success in picking on No. 29. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the journeyman backup quarterback exploited the journeyman backup corner for four completions in five targets, including the Cardinals' first touchdown of the game. 

While the game book isn't out yet for the Patriots game, Vaughn was once again an obvious target:

"

It's as if Cassius Vaughn doesn't go to practice or team meetings. He never seems to know where to be or what to do. Covering is a start.

— Brandon Alisoglu (@BrandonAlisoglu) November 23, 2014"

Good teams exploit advantages. While the Cardinals and Patriots have done so, the Lions have not shown they can do the same. It often seems as if they're not even trying...

"

Now 8 RT @jeffphowe: Now 7 RT @jeffphowe: Stafford has thrown 6 straight incompletions when targeting Revis.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 23, 2014"

Darrelle Revis is universally regarded as one of the best (if not the best) cover corners in the NFL. Yet Stafford and the offense continued to try and force the issue, even after nickel corner Kyle Arrington left the game with an injury.

Even when the opportunities knocked, Detroit's execution failed to meet the level needed to capitalize. The Lions had a drive spanning from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second quarter that presented a golden opportunity to change the fate of the game.

Trailing 7-3, the Lions had 1st-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Stafford looked for tight end Joseph Fauria on first down, drawing an obvious holding penalty to move the ball inside the 4-yard line. The next three plays pretty much summed up the offensive ineptitude that has plagued the Lions in the two-game losing streak:

• Bell off left tackle for a 1-yard gain.
• Stafford to Calvin Johnson incomplete, Johnson dropped the ball in tight coverage.
• Stafford to Fauria incomplete, Fauria dropped a perfectly thrown ball that hit him in the hands.

Instead of cashing in on a touchdown at a critical juncture, the Lions limped away with a short Matt Prater field goal. A potential 10-7 lead morphed into a demoralizing 7-6 deficit. 

The Patriots quickly pounced. Danny Amendola returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the Detroit 22. Two plays later LeGarrette Blount easily rumbled into the end zone from three yards out, and any legitimate hope Detroit harbored was buried. 

What followed was some of the worst football seen by Lions fans since the Rod Marinelli era. It was a comedy of errors.

"

Dropped balls in the endzone, wide open blown coverage, and sliding short on fourth down. Patriots laughing their way to win over the Lions.

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 23, 2014"

The Lions dropped four potential touchdown passes on the day. My initial game notes counted nine sure drops and at least two others that could be judged as drops, too. Between the unreliable receiving and the struggles with the offensive line, Stafford's performance was actually better than the decidedly ugly box score line:

Comp.	Attempts	Yards	YPA	TD	INT	QB Rating
18	46	264	5.7	0	1	49.5

Then there are the coaching issues. This is a dicey subject to broach because it's hard to ascertain just how much influence the coaching has on the on-field action. Yet it's clear that both Arizona and New England have superior coaching when compared to Jim Caldwell and his Lions.

Arizona jumped out with two exceptionally plotted drives—both of which resulted in touchdowns. Detroit adjusted quickly and shut them out the rest of the way, but the initial damage proved fatal. 

New England similarly found early gaps in the Detroit defense. After the first drive, Brady was on fire:

"

Brady 21 of 27 for 233 yards, 2 TDs and a 127.3 passer rating in the first half. Ho hum

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) November 23, 2014"

The Lions pass rush was decent, but the coverage couldn't match the front. Brady was savvy enough to consistently find the mismatches or holes—many of which were created by Detroit's poor execution:

"

#Lions D talked this week about defending Gronk, then they leave him wide open - twice. Patriots up 24-6 at the half. #DETvsNE

— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) November 23, 2014"

The coaching points aren't translating well to the field. That's not something anyone would ever say of Arizona's Bruce Arians or New England's Bill Belichick. The growing pains of having a new staff featuring rookie coordinators really show against the premium competition.

Neither the Cardinals nor Patriots were at their best in besting the Lions. But they did the little things that mattered more consistently than Detroit could in those games. Detroit has now seen what it takes to make the proverbial next step. It's time for it to apply those lessons and right the listing ship.

The schedule gets easier now. The next four opponents—Chicago twice, Tampa Bay and Minnesota—have two combined wins in the last six weeks against opponents other than those three teams playing themselves (both over lowly Washington). It's time for Caldwell's Lions to prove they deserve another shot at the New Englands and Arizonas of the NFL world.

All stats are courtesy of NFL.com. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffRisdon