5 Ways the Lions Can Rebound from Thanksgiving Loss

To say the least, Thanksgiving was a disappointment for the Detroit Lions. Injuries and personal misconduct aside, the performance was disheartening by any measure.

But even though the Lions did themselves no favors on Thursday, they're still very much in the thick of the playoff chase. On Sunday in New Orleans, they need to face forward and rebound against the Saints on Sunday Night Football.

It'll be a tough game to be sure, but here are five ways the Lions can put the Turkey Day disaster behind them. 

Stop Bleeding Turnovers

The top two enemies of any football team are turnovers and penalties. The Lions have been committing far too many penalties all season, but it's only in the past three weeks that they've become turnover-prone. 

Much of this comes down to quarterback Matthew Stafford. After having an exceptional touchdown-to-interception ratio in the first half of the season, he's now thrown nine in three games to only seven touchdown passes. Considering that five of those seven TDs came in one game, that's even more unacceptable than it is on its face. 

While his passes have been less arced than normal since he broke his finger, his issue has been more horrible decision making, trying to force balls into spaces he can't hit in his current condition. Whether this is a lessened ball speed or anything else, it needs to stop.

The Saints have a negative turnover ratio on the year, coughing the ball up five more times than they've taken it away. The Lions cannot help them improve that number one bit come Sunday.

Stop with the Stupid Penalties

Mentioned briefly in the previous point was the Lions season-long (one could say decade-long) issues with stupid penalties. On Thursday it came to a head against the Packers. It has to stop. Now.

Ndamukong Suh almost certainly won't be around to near-guarantee the other team a personal foul call, but he was hardly the only offender on the team. Long story short, the defense needs to tone it down a bit and stop negating all their hard work with stupid shots after the play is over. If they're going to turn it around, we need to see it on Sunday night.

Earlier in the college football season, the Michigan State Spartans faced accusations of being a dirty team that had to commit penalties to survive on defense. The next game the Spartans came out and played a full game without committing a single penalty. Not one. That should be the Lions goal for this week: 60 minutes of clean football.  

Maintain the Running Game

When Kevin Smith was taken out of the game against the Packers, the Lions' suddenly capable running game came to a screeching halt. News has since come out that Smith's injury—a mild ankle sprain—may not keep him out of Sunday's game after all. If he can play, that's great news for the Lions.

Even if he's sidelined, the Lions must continue their commitment to the running game. The Saints give up over five yards a play on the ground; the Lions need to exploit that as much as possible to open up passing lanes for Matthew Stafford, since the defense will likely have its hands full without Ndamukong Suh on the front lines.

Ideally, Kevin Smith can play to keep the rushing attack in the minds of the Saints. But no matter who's lining up in the backfield, he needs to get regular touches against the Saints.

Solidify the Special Teams Unit

For all their failings these past many years, the Lions have usually been pretty good on special teams. Not so this year, with far too many poor punts and a couple of devastating missed field goals, not to mention a pair of touchdowns allowed on special teams and a lack of explosiveness in their own return game.

The Lions need to solidify their coverage unit something awful, because it's not taking Devin Hester to shred it. And when Devin Hester gets a chance...well, we saw what he did against the Lions a few weeks ago. The Lions are likely still fielding Ben Graham in for the injured Ryan Donahue, and he's done better in getting enough hang time for the Lions defenders to get in place.

This needs to continue on Sunday, keeping the Lions out of the huge—and hugely devastating—play on special teams and keeping the Lions in the field possession game.

Find Calvin Johnson

Matthew Stafford found Calvin Johnson in the end zone in garbage time during Thursday's game. It was also the first time the pair had hooked up for a touchdown in the entire month of November.

Yes, really. Calvin Johnson had one touchdown reception in November.

That cannot repeat in December if the Lions want to have any chance of making the playoffs. Yes, teams double and triple-teamed Johnson. He's also quite capable of beating those coverages with his superior height and arm length.

Stafford needs to utilize him in the red zone much more often than he has been. He's their biggest threat; the less the Lions rely on him, the less of a chance they have to win any given Sunday.

This Sunday, they need to throw it to the big guy. Not just for the fantasy owners, but for their own chances.