What Is Wrong with Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions Offense?

With its offense in a tailspin, the Detroit Lions could ill afford another dud performance from Matthew Stafford and Co. against the stingy Seattle Seahawks defense.

That's exactly what they produced in a 13-10 defeat on Monday Night Football, thus falling to 0-4 on the season. The Lions offense put up all of three points in the game, sputtering to just 12 first downs on 10 drives—most of which looked doomed from the start.

Of those 10 drives from the Lions offense, eight of them ended in punts. Sam Martin's leg must need some ice after 367 total yards punting, more than 100 more than his offense put up.

Yes, the game ended on the heels of a masterful 90-yard drive from the Lions, capped off by Calvin Johnson's unfortunate goal-line fumble that (controversially) sealed the Seahawks' win. But that was just one of two drives all game that moved further than 21 yards.

Not long ago, Stafford led one of the league's most prolific offenses. So what happened?

Part of the problem could lie in offensive scheming, as the offense has seemingly shifted to a screen-heavy attack reliant on short spurts down the field. But that doesn't really fit into Stafford's M.O., as Sigmund Bloom of FootballGuys.com noted:

Poor offensive line play made itself apparent from the onset, playing a part in the Lions only accruing 2.9 yards per carry. Ameer Abdullah had nowhere to run, with 13 carries for 33 yards while various sweep plays failed to do much of anything.

But when it came to pass protection, Stafford got time and struggled to deliver first-down throws. Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News observed how the quarterback wasn't getting it done when perhaps he should:

The offensive issues have to be doubly painful for Lions fans who have struggled through numerous years of potent offense and paltry defense. That's because the Detroit defense stepped up big time, forcing two late Russell Wilson fumbles and returning one for a touchdown that cut the Seahawks' deficit to 13-10 late.

The defense gave Stafford a chance to win the game with an ensuing three-and-out, and surprisingly enough, he shook off his offense's poor start to march them down the field. He completed all six of his passes on the fateful drive that ended with Kam Chancellor jarring the ball loose from Johnson's grasp at the goal line.

The NFL captured the highlight that epitomized the Lions' night:

To make matters even worse, the play should have resulted in Lions ball at the goal line after an illegal bat by K.J. Wright out of the end zone wasn't called, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports:

Apparently the referees got this one wrong, and it obviously cost the Lions the game—or at least a chance to win it. As tough a pill as that is to swallow, the Lions offense has nobody but themselves to blame for being in the position.

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Although it's nothing new for this offense, it may be too reliant on Megatron to move the ball on offense—and that's not preferred against a secondary such as Seattle's. Johnson did well with the attention, catching seven of his 11 targets but only producing 56 yards.

He wanted the go-ahead score so bad, but that inevitably was his undoing as Stafford's comments to the Lions' Twitter account illustrate:

Simply put, Stafford won't be able to settle into his old ways of throwing it deep downfield if Johnson remains his only viable target. No receiver accrued more than five targets, with running back Theo Riddick the only target to catch more than three passes.

It didn't help that Stafford's top security blanket went down. Tight end Eric Ebron left the game after a lineman rolled up on his leg, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported, taking another one of Stafford's favorite targets off the field. 

It's undeniably been a tough ask for the Lions' sputtering run game to get clicking in the last two weeks agains the Denver Broncos and Seahawks, but Stafford will continue to face heavy second-level coverage if the Lions can't run the ball. After a 28-yard performance as a team last week, the Lions barely reached the 50-yard plateau Monday night.

Not only does the Detroit rushing attack rank as the league's worst, but it's also not even close. They're at 188 yards for the season, less than half the total of 23 NFL teams—some of which have only played three games.

Stafford has done well as the offense's primary producer in years past, but in those seasons he at least had some production from the run game. Without it, it's not so hard to realize how the Lions have dug themselves into this 0-4 hole.

Even in an offense that isn't built for it, running the ball is the key to sustained offensive success in the NFL. Until the Lions can at least show some life in that aspect of their offense, Stafford will continue to bear more responsibility than he should, and more drastic results will follow.