Sputtering Offense Paired with a Lambeau Screw Job Dooms Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions strolled into Lambeau Field tonight, having won the last four contests between the two clubs. It was a fast start for Matt Stafford and the Lions offense, but it’s a game I will continue to call the ‘Lambeau screw-job.’ Green Bay or the NFL officials edge the Lions by a score of 23-22.

Darrell Bevell didn’t wait long to dial up something dynamic on offense.  As the Detroit Lions entered the evening coming off of a bye week, it appeared the offensive coordinator Bevell had been waiting two weeks to unleash the opening play of the game.

Entering the night, it was expected the Detroit Lions would put an extra emphasis on running the football.  So what do they do?  They line up and hand the ball off to Kerryon Johnson, but he promptly turned and tossed it back to his quarterback Matthew Stafford.  The flea-flicker totally caught the Green Bay Packers flat-footed, allowing Kenny Golladay to break loose for a considerable gain.

Before the game, everyone understood the Detroit Lions needed to be able to finish drives with touchdowns, not field goals.  After the big play to Golladay, the Lions offense sputtered, leaving it to Matt Prater from short range to give the lead. It was a sign of what was to come last night.

More from Detroit Jock City

• Tigers Sign Manager A.J. Hinch to Long-Term Extension
• Lions vs. Bears Week 14 Opening Odds Disrespect Detroit
• Former Tigers Celebrate Jim Leyland Hall of Fame Call
• This Pistons Team Could be the Worst in Detroit Sports History
• 4 Free Agents Tigers Should Sign During Winter Meetings

The second drive for Detroit started similar to the first. Stafford uncorked a bomb to speedster Marvin Hall for 58 yards on the first play of the drive.  The aggressiveness from play-caller Darrell Bevell is a breath of fresh air.  Jim Bob Cooter must be watching, wondering why the Detroit Lions are throwing the football down the field.

The second drive did end with a Kerryon Johnson one-yard touchdown plunge.  But after the first three Lions drives all marched deep into Packers territory, Detroit was only able to score 13 points.  Rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson had an (I hate to say it, but it’s true) critical Eric Ebron-Esque drop in the endzone.

The officials were absolutely horrendous last night.  Tracy Walker made a play on the football while it was in the air, colliding with Geronimo Allison.  The primary contact was with shoulder to shoulder, as Allison was diving to make a catch, so was Walker.  Later, while the Detroit Lions possessed the football, Matt Stafford made a throw down the left sideline targeting Marvin Jones.  The Packers defender clearly contacted Jones early, yet no flag was thrown.

I’m sure fans want to blame Matt Patricia for not challenging the play, but it appears the league isn’t rushing to overturn those PI calls.  It would have been a wasted time-out, even though it should have clearly been PI on the field.

As the evening carried on, the officials seemingly couldn’t get anything correct.  They flagged Trey Flowers on two separate occasions for illegal hands to the face.  On both plays, the Green Bay Packers left-tackle snapped his head back, acting as he had a hand on his facemask.  Both times Flowers had his hands on David Bakhtiari‘s shoulder pads.

The first call came on a third-down play as the Lions sacked Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay territory. It gave the Packers new life. They would eventually score a touchdown on the drive.  The second came on the final drive of the football game, once again extending the drive giving the Pack yet another first down.  It allowed the Packers to bleed the clock, not allowing Matthew Stafford a chance to get the football back.  Mason Crosby converted the game-winning short field goal as time expired.  The officials also missed a play where the Packers had 13 players on defense.  You can’t make this stuff up…

The fact of the matter is, the Detroit Lions settled for field goals, five in fact rather than finishing drives with touchdowns.  If Detroit were to find a way to score touchdowns, it would have taken the game out of the officials’ hands.  That doesn’t mean the officials get a pass.  The NFL officials essentially just handed the Green Bay Packers the NFC North title–unacceptable.

The loss hurts much more than the ‘Hail Mary.’ Whether you feel the game was lost by not scoring touchdowns or not.  The officials DID decide this football game. The Lambeau Screw-Job!

Quick Takeaways: The Detroit Lions still need to run the football better.  Kerryon Johnson only averaged 2.6 yards per carry last night on 13 carries.  Someone other than Kenny Golladay needs to make a play in the passing game.  Marvin Jones had been ‘that’ guy except for last night only making 2 catches totaling 17 yards.

The Lions need to find a pass-rush, and in a hurry.  All season long the Detroit Lions haven’t been able to create a pass-rush with just a four-man front.  Matt Patricia doesn’t like to blitz so it’s imperative that the front four creates pressure.

The Lions need to find a way to stop the run.  Jamaal Williams galloped for 104 yards on just 14 carries.  Aaron Jones carried it for 47 yards on 11 carries.  Far too much for a defensive line that was expected to be one of the best in football.