Lions Defense Shines, Offense Fails Vs. Rams

The Detroit Lions defense held up their end of the bargain against the LA Rams but the offense left them hanging.

The Detroit Lions are one of only three teams to hold the Los Angles Rams to 30 or fewer points in a game so far this season.

The Rams' 344 yards was their second lowest for a game this season.

Sufficient to say, the Lions shut down one of the league's highest profile offenses. And, in doing so, they still lost the game.

Sunday's 30-16 loss to the Rams underscores the futility of the Lions offense - a unit that many anticipated would be the team's strength.

The Lions mustered the third lowest yards against the Rams less-the-formidable defense, with only the lowly San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals producing lower yardage outputs.

It's clear the Lions lack playmakers on offense as quarterback Matthew Stafford threw his only touchdown pass to his left tackle Taylor Decker. The Lions leading receivers were Bruce Ellington - who joined the team only about a month ago - and Levine Toilolo - who entered the game with six receptions.

Injuries have played a part in the skill-position erosion but there are self inflicted wounds there as well (see the voluntary losses of Eric Ebron and Golden Tate).

There is a painfully obvious void at tight end in terms of pass-catching and Ellington is a noticeable downgrade in the Tate role.

Today's loss means it's mathematically impossible for the Lions to win the NFC North, marking the 25th consecutive year they will fail to do so. If the Lions hope to end their 2.5 decades long drought of finishing atop a handful of teams any time soon, they must fix their offense.

It's unclear if one offseason can be enough time to turn things around. The question is, how many offseasons will this current regime be afforded.