Biggest Takeaways from Detroit Lions' Week 7 Loss

Watch your step.

There's fallout all over the place after the Detroit Lions' loss-from-ahead against the Minnesota Vikings. Much like the season opener, Detroit roared out of the gates with the offense clicking and the defense limiting the Vikings to field goals.

But it was fool's gold. The only debate left in the fourth quarter was whether the players or the fans were the stooges.

I guess sooner or later, we all play the fool. Let's just get on with the autopsy.

The Deep Ball Still Works

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

That glittery beginning featured one of last week's favorite plays: the deep pass.

On 3rd-and-3 from Detroit's 32, the Lions opted to throw the ball with Lance Moore running a five-yard out. The route was deep enough to pick up the first down, and Moore sprang open.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't care. He looked down the left sideline instead, uncorking a 46-yard pass to Calvin Johnson. First down, Detroit.

This play was followed up by a 55-yard catch-and-run by tight end Eric Ebron on the next drive. That series resulted in a touchdown, just as the one above did.

It turns out the Lions have the personnel for an invigorating downfield passing attack. Who knew?

Yet the Offense Still Abandoned the Deep Ball and the Running Game

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

That early success didn't stop Detroit from getting back to its normal game plan of limiting mistakes and, indirectly, opportunities.

Per Pro Football Focus, the two passes discussed on the previous slide doubled as the only throws to travel 20 or more yards in the air. Coincidentally, those were the only drives to end in touchdowns.

Detroit instead opted to get back to dinking and dunking, which resulted in five drives that failed to travel 10 or more yards, including two that finished on the negative side of zero.

The running game was working well to start, too. The trio of Ameer Abdullah, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick combined for 14 carries and 72 yards. That comes to a robust average of 5.1 yards per carry. Thus, the Lions had no choice but to set that aside in deference to a fledgling short-passing game.

Pass Protection Schemes Are a Mess

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Somebody should remind Detroit's offensive line that its job is to keep Matthew Stafford upright, not help him up. There must have been a typo in the initial memo during OTAs.

How else do you explain Stafford being forced to endure seven sacks and 10 other hits?

However, the real blame could also lie with the scheme, which was downright comical at times.

For instance, there was the time when Everson Griffen was given a sack that was easier than Michael Strahan's record-setting takedown of Brett Favre years ago. Left tackle Riley Reiff blocked down on the defensive tackle while center Travis Swanson was charged with getting all the way over to pick up the hard-charging Griffen. He didn't get there, and no one should blame him.

And don't forget about the time when Stafford was pulled down less than a second after the snap with his back turned to the line of scrimmage. He wasn't even allowed to finish his dropback.

These plays killed drives and any chance for offensive success. And now, it appears that Stafford wasn't the only one sacked as a result of those mistakes.

Detroit Finally Found the Last Straw

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

There's no pleasure derived from suggesting that a human being must be fired. In fact, quite the opposite, but hard times call for difficult decisions.

Obviously, a 1-6 record constitutes a hard time.

Detroit's tailspin into irrelevancy has now officially cost former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi his job, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. ESPN's Adam Schefter has also reported that quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter has been tabbed to replace him.

The decision was somewhat curious, considering head coach Jim Caldwell had stated hours before the "staff reshuffling" that no such changes were forthcoming, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. The prevailing theory on Twitter is that this decision came from someone higher up in the organization.

General manager Martin Mayhew is a prime suspect. Maybe owner Martha Ford made her presence known by insisting that someone be held responsible, but you have to wonder if Mayhew is trying to be proactive regarding his postseason job review.

The Secondary Has Taken a Large Step Back

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The offense wasn't good, but the defense wasn't much better, especially the secondary.

Cornerback Rashean Mathis showed his age on multiple occasions, helping to build the growing legend of rookie wide receiver Stefon Diggs. 

And to make matters worse, safety Glover Quin wasn't covering up mistakes. He was adding to their enormity.

It's unclear if Quin or Mathis were responsible for two huge blown coverages. It is clear that each thought the other was going to do something different, which made plays like Diggs' diving touchdown a possibility.

Lastly, these two combined with strong safety James Ihedigbo to miss five tackles. No matter what way you break this game down, the secondary was a huge factor in Detroit's sixth loss in seven games.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter @BrandonAlisoglu.