Lions vs. Panthers: What Just Happened?

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get a What Just Happened piece out this week. I’m sitting in a basement in Detroit awaiting the start of WWE Hell In A Cell at the Little Caesars Arena.

When the guys at POD heard I might skip today’s piece to go to a wrestling show, they were not pleased. They said I had to do the right thing like Spike Lee.

They were right. So whether it was by laptop, cell phone, morse code or message in a bottle, I’m getting this piece about the Lions’ 27-24 loss to the Panthers.

So as always, I have thoughts on this game. These are those thoughts.

It’s time to admit this offese is a problem

The Lions have been winning games. So, naturally, we’ve all been distracted when it comes to the ineffectiveness of the Lions offense. Sunday, we saw everything come to a head.

The Lions offense looked stagnant all day long, going into the fourth quarter with 129 yards. That’s really bad, in case you didn’t know.

Matthew Stafford fumbled twice and was sacked six times. The run game was stuffed from the get-go, and the play calling all together was predictable, at best. Lions need to get this in gear immediately.

Eric Ebron is bad

I’ve held off on this for so long. I’ve fought and fought to defend Eric time after time. I’m not sure I can continue to do that after this game. Ebron failed to catch a momentum-starting touchdown in the first quarter. He then failed to catch a big pass in the fourth quarter that could have helped Detroit at least try to make a comeback.

I like Eric as a person. Most the time I have liked him as a player. But I find myself coming away from this game thinking the Lions should now move on from Eric. I still hope to be wrong.

The offensive line is not what we thought it would be

Matthew Stafford was sacked six times against the Vikings in Week 4. Here in Week 5e, the Panthers added six sacks of their own.

Couple that with the fact that this Lions run game is still not working for the Lions, and you have all the reason in the world to believe that all the money invested in this line may have been wasted. Either that or Taylor Decker is needed way more than we thought.

Who the hell is Ed Dickson?

I mean, I know who is he is, but now the rest of the world does, too. And that’s what the Lions as a franchise has always been good at: Turning no-name guys into household names for one week. Matt Flynn’s kids will never have to work again because of what the Lions have done for him.

Now Ed Dickson will lead the league in fantasy adds all week because the Lions refuse to cover him. Congrats, Ed.

Darren Fells contiues to be a great signing

Fells had a great game against the Vikings in Week 4 and followed that up with another great game here against the Panthers. His two touchdowns helped the Lions nearly pull off another crazy comeback. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Lions use Fells a lot more going forward.

This team refuses to die

Yeah, it was loss, and yeah, it sucks. But the Lions’ quarterback just went out there with one leg and half an arm and almost helped bring this team back for a win. You have to love that. You also have to be really scared about Matthew Stafford’s injury and hope it’s not something bad enough to keep him out.

The rest of the team showed up late in the game as well and were a Kelvin Benjamin catch away from getting a shot to win. So take that forward to next week if you’re a Lions fan. These guys don’t lay down, and they are telling you, they’re not going!