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For the seventh time this season, the Detroit Lions have lost by one possession or less, and now their 2012 campaign is all but over following a last second play from Andrew Luck to Donnie Avery which allowed him to go untouched for 14 yards to give the Colts a victory. It is extremely unlikely for an 8-8 team to make the playoffs this year, so all the Lions  can try and do from here is finish strong. Even with a win today, it would have been an uphill battle, remaining on their schedule is the Packers, Cardinals, Falcons, and Bears, three of them are among the NFL’s top tier teams.

The Lions struggled to get  their running attack going, they had one nice rush from Joique Bell for 67 yards, but other than that they averaged about 2.5 yards per carry and were forced to attach through the air for majority of the game. The Colts didn’t have a balanced attack either, they threw 54 times and only ran 18 times. This game which featured two of the up and coming stars at quarterback saw a total of 100 pass attempts, 51 completions, 704 passing yards, six passing  touchdowns, and four interceptions. If you are a fan of old school football, this was not a game for you.

Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson were clearly on the same page, they connected a total of 13 times for 171 yards and one touchdown. After Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew was the most productive player, and he only had three receptions for 43 yards, but added one touchdown as well.

The Lions were in an excellent position to close the game and escape an Andrew Luck comeback. However, with only enough time for one play on a fourth and ten, Andrew Luck ran right and flipped the ball to Donnie Avery who was running at full speed, and the Lions were unable to get to him before he went into the end zone uncontested.

The Lions haven’t had many problems on offense this season, but if it wasn’t clear in the past, hopefully management has received the message that the defensive secondary needs to be fixed.

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The Detroit Lions have managed to escape their 1-3 start by concluding the second quarter of their season with 3-1 record that was topped with a 31-14 thrashing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Matthew Stafford didn’t throw for any touchdowns, but in this game, he didn’t have to. Mikel Leshoure had his coming out party against the unsuspecting Jaguars defense, inflicting the bulk of his damage in the second quarter.

Leshoure led the way in the second quarter for the Detroit Lions, recording all three touchdowns and helping the Detroit Lions take a commanding 21-0 lead into halftime. Prior to the game we said this was a must win, and the Lions played like their season was on the line, Stafford didn’t throw for any touchdowns, but he completed an efficient 66% of his passes for 285 yards and didn’t commit any turnovers. Additionally, after having two insignificant performances in a row, Calvin Johnson was finally able to make a difference with the ball in his hands by hauling in seven receptions for 129 yards. Titus Young, who stepped up in Johnson’s place the past two weeks as the play maker was help to only two receptions for twenty yards.

Following Leshoure’s dominant performance in the second quarter, the game remained scoreless until a flurry of scores from both teams came in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late for the Jaguars to even attempt a comeback, and the Lions prevailed with a 31-14 victory in Jacksonville.

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Coming into this season we were very optimistic about Titus Young and his potential to another threat against opposing defenses. He finished his rookie season with some very strong performances, but started off his sophomore campaign very slowly. However, in the past two games he has shown us why we were optimistic, with Nate Burleson now on the sidelines with a broken leg, Titus Young has recorded 15 receptions (on 17 targets) for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came in the Detroit Lions victory over the Seahawks.

Prior to the game we said that Stafford needs to break out of his slump and start playing like the quarterback we saw last season, and in this game he did just that. Stafford ran for one touchdown and threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns. But no touchdown was more significant than the go ahead score from Stafford to Young from the one yard line that gave the Lions a 4-point lead with only 20 seconds left.

This was the second game in a row where Calvin Johnson was a mortal man, he was held to three receptions and no touchdowns, but it gave someone the opportunity to step up and make some plays. As a result Titus Young and Brandon Pettigrew both stepped up and had excellent games, but we would give the game ball to Titus Young!

The Detroit Lions are now 3-4 and will travel to Jacksonville next week where they will play the Jaguars without MJD. In order for the Lions to make the playoffs, they can’t afford to lose games like their upcoming one against the weak Jaguars squad.

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The Detroit Lions fell to 2-4 after a 7-13 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. After a 10-6 season in 2011 that gave the Lions their first playoff appearance since 1999, this season that was preceded by optimism has quickly turned into disappointment. By no means is the season over, the

Lions have the talent to turn this season around, but that will require them to begin their recovery next week against the Seahawks, and they will be forced to go do it without Nate Burleson, who is out for the remainder of the season with a broken leg.

The Monday night matchup between the division foes was a defensive battle, but it was the Bears defense that prevailed. Calvin Johnson was held to his lowest output of the season, only catching three of the eleven passes thrown his way for 34-yards, and the Lions didn’t get on the scoreboard until Matthew Stafford hooked up with Ryan Broyles for a 12-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game. The Bears on the other hand were able to get off to a good start, they scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game, and then a field goal on their third, both occurring in the first quarter. They would only score once more after that, but that was all they needed to defeat the Detroit Lions.

The Lions also squandered a perfect opportunity in the fourth quarter when they drove down the field all the way to the six yard line with just under three minutes remaining, but that’s where the drive stalled and Stafford’s fourth down attempt  intended for Ryan Broyles was intercepted by D.J. Moore. The Lions would get the ball back and score with 30 seconds remaining, but they were unable to recover the onside kick and Jay Cutler ended the game with a knee.

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The Detroit Lions had only a little over five minutes left after Jeremy Maclin scored on a 70-yard play that gave the Eagles a 10-point lead, which ended up being exactly what the Lions needed to answer with a quick touchdown, a defensive stop, and then another drive that stalled at the 1-yard line. The Lions had the ball at the 1-yard line, but with no timeouts and limited time on the clock, they were in no position to risk running the ball and and possibly losing the game, so they were forced to kick a field goal and send the game into overtime.

Once in overtime, the Eagles won the toss and received the ball first, but the Lions defense buckled down, possibly because they knew their season was on the line and a 1-4 start is almost impossible to recover from. The first two plays in overtime, the Lions defense came up big, the first play Michael Vick rolled to the left but Cliff Avril caught him from behind for a sack and a loss of 7-yards on the play. On 2nd and 17, Vick dropped back to pass, but this time it was Nick Fairley and Keith Vanden Bosch getting to Vick to sack him for a 14-yard loss and forcing a 3rd and 31 from the Eagles own 4. On the 3rd and forever attempt, the pass fell incomplete and the Eagles were forced to punt, which gave the Lions excellent field position.

After the Lions got the ball, they immediately started going backwards with a holding penalty being called on the first play, but that was followed by a 17 yard strike to Calvin Johnson, then two short runs to set up Jason Hanson for a 45-yard field goal attempt to win the game. Hanson finished the Lions rally that started with them being down by 10 with only a little over 5 minutes to go, and they walked off of Lincoln Financial Field with 2-3 record, a new hope to their season, and a victory!