Lions coach Jim Caldwell said on Tuesday that he believes the running game is a quarterback’s “best friend,” which means that Matthew Stafford hasn’t enjoyed much kinship over the last four years.
The Lions have not ranked higher than 28th in rushing yards per game since finishing 17th in 2013, which was also the last year that the Lions had a running back go for 100 yards in a game. Reggie Bush pulled it off on Thanksgiving that year and the team has now played 62 games without anyone matching Bush’s accomplishment.
That’s a streak no other team has matched in over two decades.
“That’s more of an attitude than any technical thing,” running back Ameer Abdullah said, via the Detroit News. “It’s not always player issues. Sometimes we may not be dialing up the right thing at certain times. It’s about bringing a good attitude and executing your job. I want it to be better, but I got to be better. That’s the thing I keep telling myself, just try to be better, keep going hard.”
The Vikings will be on the other side of the ball on Thursday and they are the second-toughest team in the league to run against, which suggests that there’s a good chance that the Lions are going to be at 63 games and counting when they head to Baltimore in Week 13.