2 takeaways from the Lions’ loss to the Titans

The Detroit Lions officially have a losing season on their hands. With a 46-25 loss to the Tennessee Titans, they are now 5-9 in 2020. Even if they win their two remaining games, they will still not be able to reach .500. They will almost certainly be eliminated from playoff contention after all of Week 15’s results are through, extending their current playoff drought to four years.

Here are a few takeaways from Week 15.

Stafford shakes off the injury

Lions fans worried all week that their star quarterback Matthew Stafford would sit out of this week’s game. He suffered a serious rib injury that caused him to miss the end of last week's game against the Green Bay Packers, and he barely practiced all week.

Stafford toughed it out and played against the Titans this week, and did not look like he was banged up at all. He was not perfect on Sunday, but he played one of his better games of the season.

He finished the day with 252 yards and a touchdown pass before being replaced in the fourth quarter. Stafford threw the ball accurately and did not miss any obvious throws. The quarterback was smart with the ball too, not throwing overtly dangerous passes. A Detroit team without it’s best offensive weapon in Kenny Golladay was actually moving the ball, and would have filled up the scoreboard if not for two turnover deep in Titans territory.

There was a chance that Stafford was done for the season after he suffered an injury last week. Darrell Bevell pulling him out early proves that he was playing through some sort of serious pain. He persevered though, and showed why his toughness has always been his most revered trait.

A banged up defense still can’t stop anyone

You are used to hearing about this by now. Once again, an injury-riddled Lions defense could not stop anyone. Whether through the air or on the ground, the Titans offense got their way on Sunday.

Star running back Derrick Henry finished the day with 147 rushing yards on 24 carries — an average of 6.1 yards per carry. He made the highlight reels when he stiff armed safety Alex Myres, a guy so deep on the depth chart was added to the practice squad earlier this month.

Receiver Corey Davis had big days as well. Davis finished the day with four receptions for 110 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown catch and run where he embarrassed the Lions defense. Ryan Tannehill had an efficient 273 passing yards and three touchdowns on 27 attempts.

The Lions defense was already talent barren, and the stacking up injuries have done nothing but exacerbate the issues. Do not expect anything to change soon, either. While the offense may continue to look good down the stretch, this team is set to lose out as long as the defense continues to get run over every week.