When discussing cornerback Rashean Mathis’ pending visit with the Lions, we touched on the fact that Thursday night was a rough night for their pass defense.
The offense didn’t have a great night in the 24-6 loss to the Browns either. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson wasn’t in the lineup, robbing the team of their most potent offensive weapon, but the results were still disappointing for a unit that’s expected to be the strong suit of the Lions this season. Receivers dropped passes, the running game mustered 13 yards on 11 first half carries and two field goals mean that the Lions have scored just one touchdown through two games.
Wide receiver Nate Burleson said after the game that he’s encouraged by the fact that the Lions have been keeping things vanilla and there’s certainly no reason to panic on August 15, but running back Reggie Bush said that a lack of panic shouldn’t mean a lack of concern.
“We should be concerned,” Bush said, via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “We’re better than this. We have to hold ourselves accountable because we need to put points on the board. That’s our job and we didn’t do that.”
Johnson’s absence and the fact that the Lions play the Browns during the regular season are both reasons why the Lions offense failed to impress on Thursday, but they aren’t the only ones. The right side of the offensive line and the receivers behind Johnson need to do a better job and that’s enough to make concern a reasonable response.