Matthew Stafford, Lions' Struggles on the Road Spell Disaster for Playoff Hopes
The Detroit Lions' 30-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 ensured the Lions will now need to win three straight road games to qualify for the Super Bowl.
This postseason reality figures to be a significant problem for a team that simply hasn't won big games away from Ford Field while Matthew Stafford has been the quarterback of the Lions. Sunday's loss could all but kill Detroit's playoff run.
The Lions' 24th straight failure in the state of Wisconsin not only gave the Packers a fourth consecutive division title, but also eliminated the opportunity at a first-round bye and at least one home playoff game.
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The 11-5 Lions still qualified for the postseason as the NFC's No. 6 seed. But instead of taking a week off as the No. 2 seed, Detroit will now have to go to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the Wild Card Round next weekend. With a win, the Lions would travel to Seattle for the divisional round. Even a victory over the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks would send Detroit back on the road for the conference title game.
It is difficult to envision the Lions running the road gauntlet in January.
| at CAR | L | 7 | 323 | 3 |
| at ARI | L | 6 | 262 | 1 |
| at NE | L | 9 | 335 | 1 |
| at GB | L | 20 | 313 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 0-4 | 42 | 1,233 | 6 |
| AVG | - | 10.5 | 308.3 | 1.5 |
Detroit played five playoffs teams in 2014. Four of the games came on the road, where the Lions finished 0-4 and were outscored 102-42. Detroit's lone win—over the Packers in Week 3—came at Ford Field. No more games will played in Detroit this season.
The four road losses serve as humbling reminders of Detroit's struggles away from home.
The NFC South champion Carolina Panthers beat the Lions by a 24-7 final in Charlotte in Week 2. Detroit had three turnovers and allowed Cam Newton to throw for 282 yards and a score.
In Week 11, the Lions managed just 11 first downs and 262 total yards in a 14-6 loss to the fifth-seeded Arizona Cardinals in Glendale.
A week later, the New England Patriots (the AFC's top seed) laid a 34-6 beating on the Lions in Foxborough.
The road woes showed up again Sunday, as the Lions faced deficits of 14-0, 28-14 and 30-14 before falling by 10 points to the Packers in a winner-take-all season finale at Lambeau Field.
Micah Hyde returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a score before he re-aggravated his injured calf and briefly exited the game. Two touchdown passes from Stafford to Calvin Johnson tied the score at 14, but Rodgers returned for the second possession of the second half and led the Packers to 14 straight points.
Stafford's intentional grounding penalty in the end zone extended the Packers' lead to 30-14 in the fourth quarter.
Detroit's late comeback attempt all but ended when running back Joique Bell was ruled down before crossing the plane on a two-point try with 1:45 left in the contest.
Stafford finished with three touchdowns and no interceptions. But he also completed 48.8 percent of his passes and averaged just 5.3 yards over 41 attempts, giving him a pedestrian final passer rating of 89.2.
| at CAR | 27/48 | 291 | 6.1 | 1/1 | 72.5 |
| vs. GB | 22/34 | 246 | 7.2 | 0/2 | 61.6 |
| at ARI | 18/30 | 184 | 6.1 | 0/1 | 63.6 |
| at NE | 18/46 | 264 | 5.7 | 0/1 | 49.5 |
| at GB | 20/41 | 217 | 5.3 | 3/0 | 89.2 |
| TOTALS | 105/199 | 1202 | 6.0 | 4/5 | 67.5 |
More importantly, the Lions dropped to 0-17 on the road against teams with a winning record when Stafford starts under center (including postseason).
When Detroit last qualified for the postseason in 2011, the Lions finished 0-3 on the road against playoff teams. Losses at New Orleans and Green Bay in the regular season foreshadowed a 14-point loss to the Saints in the Wild Card Round.
Might the same scenario be playing out in 2014?
The Lions finished 7-1 at home this season but only 4-4 on the road. Detroit averaged 24.5 points at Ford Field but only 15.6 away from home.
The splits were especially visible in Stafford's play. He completed 67.9 percent of his passes and averaged 7.9 yards per attempt at home, good for a passer rating of 97.7. But on the road, those numbers fell to 54.1 percent, 6.3 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 74.9.
Meanwhile, the defense allowed 24 or more points three times on the road—compared to zero at home.
The harsh reality: Winning games on the road against good teams is hard, and it's been especially difficult for the Lions since Stafford took over at quarterback.
Now, thanks to another road loss to a playoff team, the Lions will have to go on the road and win three times to qualify for the sport's biggest game. Running the postseason table as a road team is a feat that has been accomplished in the past, but history says the Lions are unlikely to become the next team to do it in 2014.
Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report.
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