Lions Supporting Cast Must Do More to Help Matthew Stafford Overcome Struggles

It has been a very promising but often uneven season for the Detroit Lions in 2014. 

Despite losing to the New England Patriots on Sunday and dropping to 7-4, the Lions remain very much in the postseason hunt. Making Detroit's 7-4 star all the more impressive is the fact that the team has found ways to overcome injuries to playmakers like Reggie Bush, Nick Fairley and even Calvin Johnson.

What has proved truly difficult for the Lions this season is finding a way to overcome poor games by quarterback Matthew Stafford. 

While Stafford has played mostly efficient football this season (85.0 rating heading into Sunday's game), he has definitely had a few shaky outings. Sunday's loss was the latest example.

Against the Patriots, Stafford completed just 18 of 46 pass attempts with no touchdowns and an interception. His quarterback rating for the game was an embarrassing 49.5.

It marked the sixth time this season that Stafford's passer rating for a game was below 80.0. Detroit has lost four of those contests. The team is now 3-4 in games in which Stafford throws an interception. They are undefeated in games when he does not.

Of course, it isn't always easy to pull out a win when your quarterback is having an off day, but the consistently successful teams usually find a way to win in other areas of the game. Considering the Detroit defense entered Sunday's game allowing an NFL-best 15.6 points per game, one would think that the team wouldn't live and die with Stafford's play.

Yet this seems to be an emerging trend for the 2014 Lions—at least to some degree.

Thanks in part to that standout defense, Stafford has not been asked to carry the team with his arm as much as in seasons past. However, when he has been asked to put the team on his shoulders and has struggled, the rest of the team around him has failed to respond.

	Att	Comp	TD	INT	Result
@ Panthers	48	22	1	1	Loss
vs. Packers	34	22	0	2	Win
vs. Bills	31	18	1	1	Loss
@ Falcons	47	24	2	1	Win
@Cardinals	30	18	0	1	Loss
@ Patriots	46	18	0	1	Loss

If Detroit is going to bounce back and make a serious run at an NFC North title, other players are going to have to step up and make plays. 

Producing a coherent running game would be a nice start. A lot falls on Stafford's shoulders, because the Lions average just 80.8 yards rushing per game. Detroit also has a mere six rushing touchdowns as a team this season.

Some of the blame here must fall on the offensive line. Detroit is currently ranked just 24th in run blocking by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). However, running backs Bush and Joique Bell have to find a way to make more big plays in the ground game to bring balance to the Lions offense.

Getting more production out of pass-catchers not named Calvin Johnson or Golden Tate would also be a boon for the Lions offense. 

Johnson and Tate have combined for 1,625 yards and six touchdowns this season. The next most productive wideout has been Jeremy Ross with 239 yards and one score. No tight end on the roster ranks higher than 41st in the league as a pass-catcher, according to Pro Football Focus.

It isn't worth wasting too much time on the Detroit kicking game. Let's just point out that the Lions are 16-of-28 on field-goal attempts this season.

Up next are the Chicago Bears in a pivotal Thanksgiving Day matchup. While Chicago has been a wildly inconsistent team this season, relying solely on Stafford to deliver the win would be a mistake.

The bottom line is that the Detroit defense is playing at a championship-caliber level. While Stafford has to play better, the team around him needs to provide better support. Otherwise this Lions team will never have an opportunity to prove that it can be a real contender.