The good news is Thursday night's game doesn't actually count because it's still the preseason. The bad news is that it's necessary to present that disclaimer because of how bad the Detroit Lions looked. They were beyond sloppy on Thursday, and they were handled by the Cleveland Browns in a 24-6 loss.
As usual, the Lions got off to a very slow start in this game. They went three-and-out on the first possession of the game, as did the Browns on their first drive. The Lions continued their slow start with another three-and-out, but the Browns managed to break the string of punts with a 43-yard field goal on the next possession. The score was set up mainly by a 17-yard run by Trent Richardson, who was on the receiving end of a monster hit by Ndamukong Suh a few players earlier.
The Lions' struggles continued with yet another three-and-out, and the Browns made them pay with a quick touchdown drive. Suh took a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty by shoving Brandon Weeden after he threw the ball away, and Weeden then found Josh Gordon for 31 yards on the next play. A couple plays after that, Weeden connected with Jordan Cameron for a 10-yard touchdown.
It was more of the same as the first quarter ended and the second quarter began. The Lions did finally get a first down on an 18-yard swing pass to Reggie Bush, but that was all they could manage. The Browns, on the other hand, quickly moved 91 yards down the field on a drive that ended with another touchdown pass to Cameron. (Prior to the start of the drive, Cleveland's Travis Benjamin actually returned the Lions' punt 84 yards for a touchdown, but a penalty nullified it.)
The Lions' No. 1 offense finally did sustain a drive on their next possession thanks mainly to Bush. He received the ball on five consecutive plays at one point and three straight later in the drive. Bush even converted a fourth-and-short before the drive finally stalled and the Lions had to settle for a 48-yard David Akers field goal.
After a Browns punt brought the first half to a close, punts continued to be theme at the start of the second half. There were three straight drives that ended with a punt before the Lions got themselves another field goal. This time, Shaun Hill and Joique Bell helped move the Lions down the field before Havard Rugland connected on a 33-yard field goal.
The Browns answered the Lions' field goal with another easy scoring drive. Jason Campbell sliced up the Lions' pass defense, and he found a wide open Brandon Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown pass. This put the Browns up 24-6, and that was the final score after the two teams traded punts to finish the game.
This game was just awful to watch, especially the first quarter. The Lions looked lost on offense and defense, and even their special teams had issues as well. Needless to say, the Lions have a lot of work to do before the New England Patriots come to town next Thursday.