DETROIT -- A few thoughts on the Detroit Lions' 17-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.
What it means: When two phases fail, a team is not going to win a game, and the Lions learned that lesson Sunday. Special teams was atrocious with three missed field goals from Alex Henery, including a potential game winner from 50 yards. The offense, beaten up by injuries, wasn't much better, struggling to move the ball.
It all rolled into the toughest loss of the season for Detroit, which had 263 yards offense -- and only 95 yards of it in the first half. Matthew Stafford looked inaccurate. Calvin Johnson was barely able to play and the running game was ineffective. It looked an awful lot like the Lions of last season, except Detroit's defense played well and shut down the Bills' running game with 49 yards.
Stock Watch: Rising -- George Winn. In his first NFL game, the suburban Detroit native did pretty well. He ran just like he did in the preseason -- hard and with purpose. Winn had 11 carries for 48 yards and became the primary running back when Reggie Bush left with an ankle injury. Falling -- Calvin Johnson. Things aren't looking great for the Lions' star. A week after he was limited with an ankle injury, he appeared to reinjure it on his one catch of the day, a 7-yard slant from Stafford. He went to the locker room and wasn't seen again. Falling -- the Lions' offense. A wicked day of injuries for them. Besides Johnson, the Lions were without Joique Bell for the entire game and Bush in the fourth quarter.
The kicking circus continues: The Lions signed Henery, a veteran, two weeks ago in the hopes he would stabilize the kicking issues from rookie Nate Freese, who the team released. That hasn't happened. Henery missed three field goals -- from 50 yards to win the game, 44 yards off the upright and way off from 47 yards -- and once again left calls for the Lions to seek their third kicker of the season. Don't be surprised if the Lions hold tryouts again, especially since Matt Prater is available.
Game ball: Linebacker DeAndre Levy was everywhere again. He made 13 tackles, had a tackle for loss and generally snuffed out the Bills' running game. Right now, he may be Detroit's best defender. He was the biggest bright spot on a defense that played pretty well but couldn't overcome the rest of Detroit's issues everywhere else.
What's next: The Lions head to Minnesota for their first division road game of the season, facing the Vikings on Sunday.
