Chargers shock Lions

The Detroit Lions went into Sunday's game against the 2-10 San Diego Chargers with three extra days of practice and preparation. They were coming off of a big win on Thanksgiving Day when they beat their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers. They were at home in front of their fans playing on a field they are used to winning on. In fact, all the games they have won this season have been at home. It should be a a sure win, right?

Wrong!

The Lions, after taking a step forward on Thanksgiving, stumbled backwards again. They made San Diego quarterback Doug Flutie look like he was in his 20s instead of his 40s. The Lions' offense showed no imagination and made the Chargers defense look like a steel curtain. The end result was another loss for the Lions, this time 14-7.

So, what went wrong?

Let's start by looking at the Lions' defense. On paper, it looks good that they only allowed 14 points, but if you saw the game, you would know that Flutie stopped his own offense twice in Detroit territory with turnovers. Also, the Chargers tried their best to keep Detroit in the game with penalties that negated two touchdowns. San Diego ended up with 11 penalties for 95 yards and they still won.

Of course, if you ask Robert Porcher of the Lions how the defense played, you would hear a whole different story as he out and out blamed the offense for not winning.

"You've got to score some points," he said after the game. "When you give up only 14 points in this league, you should win the game."

This is partially true, but again, San Diego actually stopped themselves, not the Lion defense.

Of course, letting LaDainian Tomlinson run over and around your Lions defense didn't help. Tomlinson had 25 rushes for 88 yards while catching nine passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Porcher had a great day himself, so he can talk. He made one whole tackle and having an assist. Hey Bob, you can't put down the offense like that unless you are a true leader. Now if you had three sacks and six tackles and kept Tomlinson out of the end zone, then go ahead and talk. Otherwise, just be quiet and accept the fact that both the defense and the offense need a lot of work.

Offensively, the Lions are just plain boring and predictable. Joey Harrington rarely throws a ball over five yards. The running backs were back to their old ways again, rushing for a blistering 68 yards, with Shawn Bryson leading the way by running 10 times for a whopping 28 yards.

This was a typical series for the Lions. Harrington passes for five yards and if Az-Zahir Hakeem would not drop it like he did a couple of times, then it would be second down. Next there would be a run up the middle for two or less yards. Then on third down, Harrington would drop back to pass, then either throw a three-yard completion short of a first down or throw an incompletion.

Nice innovative offense, coach Steve Mariucci.

In the end, Harrington did end up 26-46 for 208 yards, which isn't too bad unless you are playing a two-win team like San Diego.

It is hard to figure out this team. The Lions came out flat and stayed that way throughout the game. San Diego gave them the ball back a couple of times in the closing minutes to give Harrington a chance to lead the team to a tying touchdown, but Harrington and the Lions' offense just could not do it. They could not even get in field goal range to let Jason Hanson win the game with his foot.

All the team had to do was drive to the Charger 35 yard line or so, and put the ball on Hanson's foot. It shouldn't have been that hard to drive on this San Diego defense and give Hanson three or more attempts to give the Lions some points. But, they just couldn't do it.

In a sense, Porcher is right. The offense does need to step up and score some points. They need to get in the end zone, or rely on field goals to win. This was a game they should have won, but Mariucci did not have his team prepared again. If it is the player's fault, then these players need to go.

However, the offense certainly does not need a crusty old veteran like Porcher, who doesn't hold his end of the bargain up, to put down the offense. He and the rest of the defense let a 40-something QB pass for 244 yards with 17 in 25 attempts. In fact, at a crucial time when the Lions had San Diego with a third down and three and a chance to get the ball back, Porcher jumped offsides and gave them a first down. This made Detroit take its final timeouts of the game and used up time that the offense needed to score. Nice job, Robert. Then you complain?

Really though, the Lions should thank San Diego. They are going nowhere anyway, and maybe the Chargers will jump ahead of them in wins so the Lions can have a higher draft pick. So you see, at least there was a bright side to this story.