The Three Biggest Culprits In The Lions Collapse [BLOG]

By Pat Caputo

1. Matthew Stafford: Nobody has defended Stafford more than I have, but it was when he was playing well, and the Lions losses shouldn't have been linked to him as much as his detractors suggested. That, however, hasn't been the case the last six games. He has become a turnover machine. There is no plausible explanation for it other than he simply has played poor football by the standards of an NFL QB, and at the worst possible time.

2. Calvin Johnson: He is a truly great football player, but anybody who denies that Megatron's drops in the Baltimore and Tampa Bay games didn't have a huge impact on the Lions' season is not living in the land of reality. He cost them two games.

3. Jim Schwartz: It wasn't just the Lions' lost, but how they lost. It is an indictment on how they are coached.