Lions Offense Need a Wake Up Call: Lose to Cardinals
By: Alex LaGrone
Drew Stanton threw for two early touchdowns passes and the Arizona Cardinals held the Lions without a touchdown for a 14-6 victory. Stanton, who took over as Arizona's quarterback after Carson Palmer's season ending injury, completed 21 of 32 passes for a career high 306 yards.
The Lions won four straight games; their last three in come from behind fashion. The loss dropped them into a first place tie in the NFC North Division with the red-hot Green Bay Packers.
Defensively, the Lions played very well, but offensively they struggled again. QB Matthew Stafford completed 18 of 30 passes for only 183 yards. Stafford was sacked four times as the blitzing Cardinals defense kept applying pressure all game.
After the game Stafford stated "they've got talented guys, but we didn't help ourselves out." The Cardinals have the best record in the NFL and the inside track on home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Things don't get any easier for the Lions. Up next is the New England Patriots. The Patriots probably have the second best offense in the league behind the Packers.
New England's QB Tom Brady has been blowing up since the return of TE "Mad Man" Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski is very physical and is a match-up nightmare for the Lions secondary.
Are the Lions ready to show that they can bounce back? Head Coach Jim Caldwell thinks so. "This league is tough, but the thing about it is everything we set out to do this season is still in front of us."
If Stafford and Co. don't get it together (like for real, for real) they could get blown away.
