The Detroit Lions haven't played four quality quarters of football in a row all season. On Monday night, they didn't even play one.
The Lions scored a garbage-time touchdown to avoid being shut out in Chicago, but they still should be embarrassed by another sloppy, desultory offense by their offense in a 13-7 loss to the Bears.
We could write a lot of words about the Lions' mistake-prone offense or you could just watch the video above. The image of Matthew Stafford scrambling on fourth down before throwing an interception and eating a face full of mud sums up the Detroit offense at this point.
On their previous trips to the red zone, the Lions had fumbled twice, including once on the goal line. They threw four consecutive times from the 3-yard line. They had one first down with a few minutes left in the first half.
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A lot has been written about Cam Newton's struggles this season, but Matthew Stafford has been worse. His accuracy and decision-making have been erratic. Even in Detroit's two wins, he looked lost for most of the day.
When Stafford was on target Monday night, his receivers hurt him with drops. Nate Burleson was lost to injury. The Lions don't trust their running game even when they are picking up yards.
The Lions are lucky to be 2-4. They were very sloppy for most of the game even in their wins over the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. Their defense played well enough to win against the Bears, but Stafford and the offense let the team down again.
Unless Stafford dramatically improves, the Lions will be stuck in the NFC North basement all season.
