Detroit Lions shut out for first time in Matthew Stafford’s career

The Detroit Lions defense has looked awful all season. If there was one saving grace for the team, it was the offense and Matthew Stafford. And while that side of the ball hasn’t been perfect this year, there’s enough talent to believe they could hang on Sundays.

That wasn’t the case in Week 11, as the Lions offense was shut out by the Carolina Panthers, 20-0. It was the first time the Lions had been shut out since October of 2009. It was also the first time the Lions were shut out in a game in which Matthew Stafford started.

The Lions quarterback was just 18-of-33 for 178 yards on Sunday. He was also sacked five times by an aggressive Panthers defense.

Detroit was without three key weapons on offense: wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola and running back D’Andre Swift. However, that’s little excuse for Detroit’s performances. Carolina went into this game with 27th ranked defense by DVOA and was giving up 27.2 points per game (21st).

There’s no other way to put this: This was an embarrassing performance through and through. And it’s about time someone be made accountable for it.