Lions fall to 6-6 and their playoff hopes appear to be on life support after 44-20 loss at Ravens.
BALTIMORE — When the Detroit Lions started slowly against Cleveland last month, Jim Caldwell said he wasn’t concerned. Perhaps he should have been.
Because he never fixed the problem. They faced another double-digit deficit Sunday against Baltimore, their fourth in a row. And not even 20 straight completions from Matthew Stafford could help the Lions overcome it.
They drew within 27-20 in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard touchdown pass to linebacker Nick Bellore — Stafford’s 20th straight completion, a team record — but Justin Tucker tacked on a 51-yard field goal, then Stafford ended his historic streak with an interception that squashed any chances of a comeback.
Stafford was shaken up on the play, too, and left the game with a throwing hand injury. It was the first time he’s missed a snap since November 2015, more than two calendar years. Jake Rudock replaced him, and got the first action of his career.
Now, for the second straight year, Stafford is battling an injury to his throwing hand as the Lions head into the final month of the season. But at 6-6, they have little to play for anyway, and no room for error.
It entered the weekend with a 19-percent chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN, and that will shrink to almost nothing with the loss. The club will need considerable help from Atlanta, Carolina and Seattle to make it into the postseason, even if they win all four remaining games.
Here’s some quick observations from the loss:
— Here we go again. On the day he moved into third place on the active QB starts streak list, Stafford hurt his throwing hand again, this time badly enough to knock him out of a game for the first time since that game against the Kansas City Chiefs in London in 2015. That was more than two years ago. He battled a throwing hand injury in the final month last year, too, when he dislocated a finger. He managed to play through it, but his accuracy and performance took a big hit, and Detroit was doomed. The Lions might already be doomed this year, and now, Stafford’s start streak could be in jeopardy as well.
— Jake Rudock, last year’s sixth-round pick, got the first regular-season action of his career in place of Stafford. And it took him only five passes to throw a pick-six to Eric Weddle, turning an ugly score into a laughable 44-20. He’s shown nice moments in his two training camps and the preseason, but the regular show is a whole other animal. And this reinforced what everybody already knew: Detroit is screwed without Matthew Stafford. Rudock finished 3 of 5 passing for 24 yards, plus the pick.
— While Stafford’s health is the foremost concern, he deserves credit for rallying the Lions again, too. After fumbling twice early in the game, he bounced back to complete 20 straight passes. That obliterated the team record previous held by, well, you know, Matthew Stafford (13 in a row against New Orleans last year). Begrudge the Lions‘ early play all you want — and rightfully so — but you can’t take anything away from Stafford’s clutch play as well. Without him, the Lions would be road kill. With him, they were able to climb within 27-20 on a touchdown pass to linebacker Nick Bellore with 10:24 left.
— But the Lions were dogged by too many mistakes, too many injuries up front, and too big of an early hole. Baltimore scored the final 17 points, aided in part by a pair of interceptions, and a one-score game quickly turned into a laughingstock. Detroit was good enough to win this game, but couldn’t get out of its own way yet again. And with the playoffs slipping out of their grasp, that could wind up being this team’s legacy: Talented, just not all that good.
— We pause your regularly scheduled program of bad stuff that happened to Detroit to bring you this uplifting nugget. Rookie running back Tion Green, the last player from the opening day roster to suit up for a game, rambled 33 yards on his first career carry and then took a pitch 5 yards for a touchdown on his first career touch at the goal line. Not bad for a guy who was quoted just this week as saying it „hurts my heart“ to see Detroit fail at the goal line, because he was so good at it in college. With Ameer Abdullah out of the lineup, Green led Detroit with 51 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. And he made a serious case for more time in the Lions‘ woebegone backfield. The rookie should play ahead of Zach Zenner, that much is clear, and probably Dwayne Washington too. The only real question is why did it take so long for him to see the field?
— The Lions were crushed in the trenches by injury. On offense, they were playing without center Travis Swanson, then lost right tackle Rick Wagner in the second quarter and right guard T. J. Lang coming out of halftime. Detroit responded by a sort of musical chairs, with Corey Robinson and Don Barclay splitting snaps at left guard, and Robinson and Brian Mihalik splitting snaps at right tackle. Lang did eventually return, although even then, Detroit had just two offensive linemen playing their original positions. No wonder Matthew Stafford was hit so much.
— The defense wasn’t spared, either, with Cornelius Washington leaving with a shoulder injury and Ezekiel Ansah leaving twice with ankle injuries. Ansah was able to finish the game, though, splitting time with Anthony Zettel and Dwight Freeney.
— With Tavon Wilson out for the season at safety, the Lions were expected to start Miles Killebrew alongside Glover Quin. Instead, in a major surprise, they started Quandre Diggs there.
— Everyone is to blame for the Lions‘ slow starts this season, and especially over the last month, and the coaching staff deserves as much blame as anyone. One early deficit could be an aberration, and two is a trend and three is just inexcusable. And against Baltimore, they made it four straight double-digit deficits in the first half. That’s on coaching. So is putting nine men on the field for a defensive play, just one week after putting 10 men on the field for a Minnesota touchdown. Jim Caldwell fell on the sword for that one, and said he had to be better. Just one week later, he wasn’t.
