Lions Lowdown

So much for the Lions’ season.

All they had to do was beat the Bengals, not a good football team.

They missed tackles, accumulated penalties and never found any kind of offensive rhythm.

The 26-17 loss to the Bengals was a total team effort and dropped the Lions to 8-7 with no chance for the playoffs. It makes next Sunday’s home game against Brett Hundley and the Packers meaningless.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

There is a fine line between playing on an even keel and with passion. The Lions just didn’t look like they had the fire on either side of the ball today. The season was on the line, all they had to do was win.

“We were not sharp in any way, shape or form. We had a few plays here and there but they played better, plain and simple,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said.

The Lions offensive line was missing three starters, but no excuse. Actually that’s what Caldwell said too — he’s never used injuries as an excuse for a loss. And, hey, the Bengals had their share of injuries too.

Five reasons the Lions lost:

1. The Lions defense missed tackle after tackle, sometimes on the same play. The Bengals featured the NFL’s worst offense, averaging 268.9 yards per game before they met the Lions. They finished with 364 yards against the Lions and they had nothing to play for except maybe pride.

2. The Bengals also own the NFL’s worst running game, averaging just 77.0 rushing yards per game. They almost doubled that production thanks to the Lions’ porous rushing defense. Cincinnati finished with 143 rushing yards, with Giovani Bernard rushing for 116 yards. His previous high this season was 77 yards in a game.

3. Penalties were a killer in the second half. Don Barclay, who started at right guard in place of T.J. Lang, had three in the fourth quarter. The Lions were whistled for nine penalties costing 74 yards while the Bengals had just five.

4. The offense never got in rhythm. Matthew Stafford had completed more than 80 percent of his passes in the past three games, but only 54.3 percent against the Bengals. Stafford was 19 of 35 for 195 yards, one touchdown, on interception for a 68.2 rating.

5. The Lions had trouble running the ball with 22 carries for 87 yards. Perhaps you’ve heard this before. Rookie Tion Green had a few good runs and finished with seven carries for 43 yards including a rushing touchdown. (It was the Lions’ first fourth-quarter rushing touchdown by a running back in more than two years, according to FOX. Two years.) Don’t use the banged-up offensive line as an excuse. The Lions have to be better at running the ball. Caldwell has said many times they thought the run game would be fine this season with Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick healthy. That was a huge miscalculation by the coaching staff.

 

OK, it’s musical chairs time again on the Lions offensive line as they play a must-win game today against the Bengals at Cincinnati.

It’s the 10th different configuration for the Lions’ offensive line in their 15th game, all due to injuries.

Three typical starters are out.

Center Travis Swanson will miss his second straight game with a concussion. He was declared out on Friday.

Right guard T.J. Lang (foot) will not play after being listed as doubtful on Friday.

Right tackle Rick Wagner (ankle) was questionable and indeed will be inactive.

Once again, Graham Glasgow will start at center with Joe Dahl expected to go at left guard just like he did last week. We’ll have to see who will start at right tackle and right guard.

Seriously the Lions are running out of healthy offensive linemen. Tackle Brian Mihalik is active but missed practice all week with an illness. Healthy linemen are Corey Robinson, Don Barclay and Emmett Cleary.

Other Lions inactives: defensive tackle Rodney Coe, wide receiver Bradley Marquez, along with running backs Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington.

Bengals inactives: WR Cody Core, DB KeiVarae Russell, RB Jarveon Williams, DT Josh Tupou, OL Cedric Ogbuehi, OL Justin Murray and DT Andrew Billings.

If ever there was a game the LIons should win it’s this matchup on Sunday at Cincinnati.

The Bengals (5-9) have no playoff hopes, so all they’re playing for is pride.

The Lions (8-6) must win to keep their playoff hopes alive, plus they need help.

Cincinnati has been the only focus for the team this week. They seriously do not look ahead.

“We try to encourage them just to focus on what we can control, what we do. And there’s 16 games in the season, you play them out no matter how they fall. You take a look at it at the end and see where you are, and I think that’s where we are at this stage,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

If they finish 10-6 and do not make it to the postseason they can only blame themselves.

Five things to watch against the Bengals:

1. Keep Matthew Stafford from being touched. Two more sacks and he’ll have 45 for the year which ties a career-high which is pathetic. Stafford was sacked zero times by the Tampa Bay Bucs two weeks ago, the only game this season he hasn’t gone down. Stafford is good at avoiding sacks, but he should not be put in so many potential sack situations.

“We have to protect the quarterback better, it starts with me. Could be play calling, could be scheme, could be game plan for the week. But at the end of the day, we do not want our quarterback hit as much as we have been so far this year and that’s a major point of emphasis for us moving forward,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “We believe in protecting our quarterback and that’s really important in offense football I believe, so we got to do a better job and I’ve got to do a better job.”

2. Pressure Andy Dalton who has had an up-and-down season. Last week in the 34-7 loss to the Vikings, he had two interceptions and zero touchdowns. In the season opener, he was worse with four interceptions and no touchdowns. In-between he’s been so-so. The defense has has issues with pressuring quarterbacks, but no excuse here. Dalton has been sacked 35 times. Of course he does have a top wide receiver in A.J. Green. “I expect he’ll give us all we can handle,’’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Green.

3. Run the ball. Seriously.  If Lions can’t find success against the Bengals, who rank 32nd in rushing defense (allowing 131.5 yards per game), then their run game is worse than we thought. Theo Riddick should be back after he left Saturday’s game with a wrist injury. Ameer Abdullah is healthy except for his hurt feelings that his role has diminished. Tion Green appears to be a playmaker but needs to get the chance.

4. Stopping the run should not be much of a challenge for the Lions. The Bengals are the worst team in the NFL in rushing averaging just 77.0 yards per game. Top running back Joe Mixon has been in concussion protocol, but has practiced this week and is expected to play. He has 157 carries for 518 yards (3.3 yards per carry) and four touchdowns.

5. It’s so much easier to win with a good start. Look at last week when the LIons had a 13-0 lead in the first half before the Bears kicked a field goal in the waning seconds. Even against a bad team like the Bengals, a good start is essential.

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Bengals 17