Detroit Lions lose catfight to Carolina Panthers, 27-24

Late heroics were not enough as the Detroit Lions were unable to overcome early miscues en route to a 27-24 loss against the Carolina Panthers.

Too little, too late.

For the second consecutive week, Matthew Stafford was once again under constant pressure. The hits eventually took their toll on the Detroit Lions signal-caller, who was sacked six times, and limped his way on and off the field with his left thigh and ankles taped.

The extent of the injuries are not known at this time, but will certainly be something to watch this week.

Under duress often, Stafford was uncharacteristically erratic, missing open receivers and fumbling twice. The franchise quarterback nearly redeemed himself, throwing two late touchdowns to tight end Darren Fells to close the deficit to 27-24.

The defense, who had plenty of missed opportunities of their own, was unable to stop the Panthers on the ensuing drive, allowing a late third-down conversion to seal the game.

Offense Grounded

For most of the game, the Lions’ offense was in disarray and failed to generate momentum of any sort after the game’s opening drive. In particular, a familiar miscue once again reared it’s ugly head: drops.

The Lions immediately took the opening possession down to the Panthers’ 12-yard line, but settled for a field goal after a devastating drop in the end zone by Eric Ebron. It was more of the same on the next drive, as the Lions failed to convert third down on a drop by Golden Tate.

The running game, a key component in last week’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, was largely ineffective. The Lions managed to find the end zone on the ground in the first quarter with a one-yard score by Zach Zenner, but as a unit finished with just 50 yards on 15 carries.

Poor Defensive Showing

The defense easily played their worst game of the season, as they were unable to contain the Panthers’ large receiving corps and struggled to get off the field on third downs.

After forcing a league-high 11 turnovers through the first quarter of the season, they were unable to muster a single one against the Panthers. They were bullied throughout the game by Cam Newton who threw for three touchdowns, two of which came against Darius Slay.

The defense had no answer for tight end Ed Dickson, primarily considered a blocking specialist, who hauled in 5 catches for 175 yards.

Though the unit did manage to harass Newton, notching three sacks, they allowed the Panthers to convert 7-of-16 third downs, including the game-clincher to Kelvin Benjamin.

Next: Lions game balls for week 5

Looking Ahead

The Lions (3-2) will look to correct their mistakes and get Stafford healthy for next week’s showdown at the New Orleans Saints.