Lions-Cardinals PFF Grades: An embarrassing performance from all phases

If you're not aware by now, Pro Football Focus is a website that focuses on grading NFL players for their individual performances based on an in-depth review of every snap for every game. If you're interested, here is a look at their grading system.

Sunday's game was bad. Real bad. If you're still visiting this site to talk about the Detroit Lions, then my heart goes out to you. I appreciate everyone that takes time out of their day to read what I have to say because it's only going to get worse. Here is a closer look at the individual performances from Sunday's game vs. the Arizona Cardinals:

Offense

Best Grades

Riley Reiff: +4.1
Brandon Pettigrew: +2.1
Theo Riddick: +2.0
Manny Ramirez: +1.9

Worse Grades

Matthew Stafford: -3.3
LaAdrian Waddle: -3.1
Laken Tomlinson: -3.0
Golden Tate: -2.2
Tim Wright: -1.9
Zach Zenner: -1.5
Ameer Abdullah: -1.5
Lance Moore: -1.2

Analysis

That's a whole lot of negatives to sift through. Let's start with Matthew Stafford. He played just 54 of the 98 total snaps on offense and was eventually benched for Dan Orlovsky after throwing his third interception of the game. You could maybe make the argument that the third INT was on Calvin Johnson, but at least two of those were on Stafford. Somehow Stafford has regressed since the new coaching staff has arrived, when they made it clear it was their primary focus to improve his mechanics and production.

The offensive line was not very good, but it also wasn't as porous as we're used to seeing. Riley Reiff has had himself a couple of solid performances in a row and is now up to a +1.2 overall grade on the year. It was also nice to see Pettigrew back in the mix, because Tim Wright is an abomination as a blocking tight end.

Fumbling was a huge issue for the Lions, and PFF has made it pretty clear to me in the past that they hand out big negatives for fumbles, regardless of who recovers it. Both Abdullah and Tate were the culprits here. Zach Zenner received an increased workload out of the backfield and wasn't all that impressive, while Riddick was on the field for 54 snaps -- 2 of them being run plays (very unpredictable!) -- and caught 10 passes on 13 targets for 53 yards and a touchdown.

The three lowest grades on offense for the Lions through five weeks are LaAdrian Waddle (-18.2), Matthew Stafford (-16.5) and Laken Tomlinson (-10.5). On the flip side, Manny Ramirez (+6.9), Calvin Johnson (+5.2) and Michael Burton (+3.4) are the three highest overall grades.

Defense

Best Grades

Darius Slay: +1.1
Darryl Tapp: +1.1

Worst Grades

Jason Jones: -1.7
Gabe Wright: -1.2
Josh Wilson: -1.2
Jermelle Cudjo: -1.2

Analysis

All in all, there isn't a whole lot to take away from the defense's performance vs. the Cards. They were on the field for just 48 snaps. The heart of the defense, DeAndre Levy, made his return and only saw the field 17 times, due to re-injuring his hip. Matthew Stafford would end the game with more tackles than Levy.

Slay earned a positive grade despite giving up a 49-yard completion to John Brown. To his credit, Brown is insanely fast and not many CBs are going to stop that play from happening. It was perfectly executed in every way. He would later get his hands on a pass intended for Larry Fitzgerald and prevent a TD.

Special Teams

Best Grades

Sam Martin: +3.8
Josh Wilson: +1.5

Worst Grades

Corey Fuller: -1.5

Analysis

Martin had one of his best performances and had a beauty of a punt drop dead at the 1-yard line. I have absolutely no idea what Josh Wilson did to earn a +1.5 grade, but good for him. He earns a high-five from me. Corey Fuller was penalized on special teams and also missed a tackle.