Team Grades: Lions Fail To Stop Todd Gurley In Loss To Rams
By Danny Cox
Sunday's 21-14 loss to the St. Louis Rams may be one of the worst of the season for the Detroit Lions. They had been playing so well for the past month after a horrible start to the season, but then got to this week and it was a total regression.
It's hard to pinpoint just what went wrong because the Lions held on throughout, but they could never get ahead or pull away. This was just a hard loss and one that officially blows away any chance of a postseason berth.
Offense: C-
This was thought to be the big game of the season for Calvin Johnson as he was going to be up against a Rams' secondary that was ailing and not as experienced. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way as Rams cornerback Trumain Johnson was on Megatron in solo coverage most of the day and held the All-Pro to just one reception for 16 yards.
Matthew Stafford threw an interception and was sacked twice, but still had 245 yards through the air. Running back Joique Bell had one of his best games of the season, and that's just with 50 yards on the ground. The Lions really could get nothing going against a Rams defense that was hurting.
Defense: C
Rams quarterback Case Keenum had some low numbers and did much of nothing. He had just 124 total passing yards along with an interception. St. Louis didn't mind, though, because the passing game of the Rams didn't need to do anything as long as Todd Gurley was on the field.
Detroit simply could not stop Gurley, who has fallen off in production the past few weeks, but came back with a vengeance. Gurley had just 16 carries, but amassed 140 yards on the ground and two scores.
Special Teams: C+
Matt Prater didn't attempt a single field goal, but did hit both of his extra point attempts. Sam Martin punted well on the day, but he got far too many chances as he booted the ball away seven times.
The return game is still incredibly nonexistent for the Lions. Golden Tate had two punt returns for a grand total of just 11 yards while Ameer Abdullah had one kickoff return for just 21 yards.
Coaching: C
After helping the Lions look relevant again and making them prove their talent wouldn't be wasted all season, the team just backtracked against the Rams. Nothing was working and a team that should not have stayed with them, outplayed them the entire day.
This was just a bad loss even though the score shows it was rather close. The Lions should have been able to handle this one and the past few weeks have shown they have the talent and ability to play with anyone. Unfortunately, Detroit just couldn't get anything going and they didn't play a full 60 minutes.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
