Detroit Lions: 7 Problems with Detroit and How to Fix Them in Time for Playoffs

In Sunday's game against Chicago at Solider Field, the Detroit Lions played nothing like the team they were in the first half of the season. Or is this the team they were all along? Entering this game, the Lions led the NFL in turnover margin and Matthew Stafford had thrown just four interceptions. Yesterday, the Lions committed six turnovers—four interceptions from Stafford—which the Bears scored 24 points off of.

The Lions are still in the playoff hunt. They are tied with the Bears in the NFC North and both would have a wild-card spot if the postseason started today. The Lions have a tough road ahead of them, and can't afford to play like they did against the Bears for the remainder of the season. If they can fix a few things, they can come out as the stronger team in their upcoming games. 

Special Teams

With punter Ryan Donahue nursing a quad injury, the Lions signed on Robert Malone from Tampa Bay. Did anyone tell him not to kick it directly to Devin Hester? Thankfully, he started kicking it out of bounds in the second half, but the five punts Malone kicked were returned for a total of 245 yards. Until Donahue comes back, Malone needs to work on his punts. As for the rest of the special teams, they need to work on limiting their opponents returning yards, as well as increasing their own.

The longest return Stefan Logan had in the game was 29 yards. With the new NFL rule turning most kickoffs into touchbacks, Logan has fewer opportunities. When Logan does get the ball, he needs to be more explosive. It will greatly aid the offense.

Drops

Seeing Calvin Johnson fumble the ball against the Bears was shocking. Johnson rarely or never fumbles the ball. But seeing Johnson drop a pass when it came his way was the bigger shock. People can conclude that Matthew Stafford just didn't throw the ball well, but still, these wide receivers are getting paid the big bucks to catch the ball.

Nate Burleson couldn't hold onto the ball when a Chicago cornerback grabbed his arms after rushing for 20 yards and a first down to the Chicago 42-yard line. Even when Stafford made good throws to his receivers, most of the time they were dropped.

One thing the Lions need to fix: holding onto the ball.

Running Game

This point has been stressed since the beginning of the year: The Lions need to find a rushing game. They have failed to do so.

Maurice Morris rushed for 44 yards on ten carries, the leading Detroit rusher in the game versus the Bears. The total rushing yards for Detroit was 80. They have a strong passing game, but they cannot always rely on it. If Detroit can find balance in the running game, they will be able to move down the field quickly. 

They have capable running backs. They need to develop some capable plays and make something happen. If they have a strong rushing and passing game, their offense will take over the field.

Turnovers

The Detroit Lions led the NFL in turnover margin in their first eight games of the season. They only forced one turnover from the Bears and committed six of their own this past Sunday. Coach Jim Schwartz greatly attributed the loss against Chicago to turnovers and the returns for touchdowns. 

If you take out the turnovers that led to points for Chicago, the scoreboard would have read 13-13 at the end of the game, instead of 13-37. 24 points were scored off of turnovers committed by the Lions in this game. Schwartz was correct on the main reason for the loss.

If the Lions want to make the playoffs and stay strong the remainder of the season, they need to do what they did in the first eight games: Win the turnover margin and limit the turnovers committed.

Convert and Score

The Lions only converted four of their 17 third-down conversions on Sunday. They truly need to work on their third-down conversions and they have yet to improve on it. While the Lions tend to have a stronger second half, if they can convert their third down conversions, they will be able to move the ball more efficiently in the first half.

Another thing is the red zone. During the six attempts in the red zone, they only scored once. If they had scored on all those attempts, they would have made a comeback. Detroit needs to score, score, score in the red zone. 

If they can covert their third down conversions and score in the red zone, they can easily breeze their way into a playoff spot.

Staying Calm

Whatever happened to that calm, cool and collected Matthew Stafford in the first half of the season? Where was that calm nature that he had when trailing Dallas and the Vikings earlier this season? One thing the Lions' fans saw this week that was rare: A very, very ticked off Stafford.

It started to build after the fumble by Calvin Johnson on the first drive of the game. It got worse after Burleson fumbled. It wasn't until Stafford threw his first pick that he really got rattled. Or was it after his third interception, when Stafford grabbed D.J. Moore by the helmet and threw him to the ground? If you told anyone who didn't see the game that, they would've been surprised.

Matthew Stafford, keep that temper of yours in check, even if things do go wrong. Your calm and collected nature was what helped lead your team to comebacks. Keep it that way for the rest of the season.

Oh, and also, the first step in achieving victory is believing in yourself to achieve it.

Make your excuses for why Stafford played bad: The wind, the gloves, the broken finger, the bad memories of Soldier Field, whatever.

He lost control of his game because he lost control of his temper.

If the Lions want to stay as playoff contenders, their quarterback needs to remain cool. His leadership affects the rest of the team. If he gets angry and doesn't play straight, the rest of the team will follow.

Blame the Wind

It seemed as if the Lions are chalking up this loss due to the wind. Stafford's inaccuracy was due to the wind. They couldn't move the ball due to the wind. If that is the case, when the Lions visit Lambeau Field in January against Green Bay, there will be wind and—most likely—snow.

If the Lions can't play well in the wind, then they can chalk up the game in December to a loss because they won't be able to play in the wind and snow. First off, blame the loss on performance. They should have prepared themselves better for the wind, it's the Windy City for crying out loud.

They need to prepare themselves for weather conditions. Things are not going to be easy coming up. The Lions took a brutal beating and we hope that they truly do not blame everything on the weather but on the performance. If they do that, they will be able to take a closer look at themselves and fix it.

If the season ended on Sunday, the Bears and Lions would both be placed in the NFC wild-card spots. However, there are seven games left, and most of them will not be easy for Detroit.

One thing the Lions should do if they want to finish the season and make the playoffs is to not play like they did at Soldier Field.