The Lions were really awful on offense yesterday turning the ball over six times and it killed them on the scoreboard.  Drew Stanton started the game for the Lions yesterday and he completed 11 of 21 passes for 130 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 23 yards (3.8 ypc) before getting yanked from the game.  Daunte Culpepper didn’t play too much better as he completed 7 of 12 passes for 51 yards and he also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc).  Maurice Morris didn’t do much on the ground for the Lions in this game with 37 yards on 18 carries (2.1 ypc) but he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg).   Calvin Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Lions yesterday with 7 grabs for 96 yards (13.7 avg) and he also carried the ball 2 times for 32 yards (16.0 ypc).  The Lions finished up with 289 total yards on offense (114 rushing, 175 passing) in this game.

The Detriot Lions were led by a pair of rookies (LB) DeAndre Levy (8 tackles, pass defensed) and safety Louis Delmas (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) on defense yesterday.  The 49ers finished up with 310 total yards on offense in this game (84 rushing, 226 passing).  The Lions are now 2-13 on the year.

The Lions have signed 30-year old QB Patrick Ramsey who will serve as the Lions #3 QB the rest of the year.  He played in 1 game for the Broncos last season and he completed 2 of 3 passes (66.7%) for 19 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs.  Ramsey has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has completed 511 of 913 passes (56%) for 5,930 yards with 35 TD passes and 30 INTs (74.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  This was a good signing for the Lions with Daunte Culpepper a little banged up.

The Lions have placed 21-year old rookie QB Matt Stafford on the Injured Reserve List due to shoulder and knee injuries.  Stafford has played in 10 games for the Lions this season and he has completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  Stafford showed glimpses of his potential this season and it was smart for the Lions to shut him down.  He looks like he will be the QB of the future for the Lions.

25-year old QB Drew Stanton is getting the start this week for the Lions and he is running out of time to show what he can do with them.  If he doesn’t play strong in the next game or two the Lions might cut him loose.  Stanton has played in 2 games this season for the Lions and he has completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 129 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (22.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Stanton has now played in 5 games in his career with the Lions and he has completed 24 of 47 passes (51.1%) for 248 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs (47.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 6 times for 30 yards (5.0 ypc) with a TD run.  If the Lions are going to have a chance to beat the 49ers this week, Stanton will have to play well.

The Detroit Lions could have packed it in at halftime in this game as they were trailing 17-0.  But, the Lions changed QBs and fought all the way to the end against the Cardinals before coming up just a tad short.  Daunte Culpepper started this game for the Lions and he completed 6 of 12 passes for 64 yards with a pick-off when he got yanked from the game.  Drew Stanton gave the Lions some fire in the second half as he completed 10 of 19 passes for 72 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Maurice Morris led the way on the offense for the Lions as he had a huge game.  He carried the ball 17 times for 126 yards (7.4 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg).  Calvin Johnson pitched in with 3 grabs for 35 yards (11.7 avg) today.  The Lions finished up with 282 total yards on offense (161 rushing, 121 passing) in this game.

The defense didn’t play good today but it was better than usual.  Safety Marvin White led the way for the Lions with 9 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Linebacker Ernie Sims also was busy in this game with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Safety Louis Delmas had another great game for the Lions with 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and he also intercepted a pass that he returned 100 yards for a TD.  The Cardinals finished up with 340 total yards on offense (117 rushing, 223 passing) in this game.  The Lions are now 2-12 on the year.

The Lions have played 7 games against teams with winning records and they have lost each of them by double figures.  The Cardinals will likely be in a bad frame of mind on Sunday after losing to the Niners on Monday Night Football last week 24-9.  That is likely not good news for the Lions.  In a perfect world the Lions would try to run the ball to keep the Cardinals’ offense off the field.  The Cardinals are giving up 111.2 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry this season.  It will be interesting to see if Maurice Morris and Aaron Brown can get anything going on the ground or not this weekend.  The Cardinals will likely blitz often in this game while double covering Calvin Johnson the whole game so it will likely he a long day for the Lions’ offense.

The Lions are allowing 272.1 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 108.8 QB Rating against them this season so it could be a long day on defense.  The Lions must find a way to put pressure on Kurt Warner or he is going to have a field day.  Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston will all likely have good games this weekend.  Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells will also likely get their share of yards on the ground on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 34, LIONS 10

Despite the secondary playing awful this season 30-year old CB William James has been o.k.  James has played in 13 games for the Lions this season and he has made 60 tackles, defensed 12 passes and he has 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Even if James doesn’t return to the Lions next season he showed that he still has something left.

The Lions have signed 26-year old TE Michael Matthews.  Matthews is a big guy at 6’4″, 270 pounds and he should help out the running game big time at the end of the line.  Matthews played in 4 games for the Patriots earlier this season but he didn’t catch any passes.  Matthews has now played in 36 games in his three years in the NFL and he has caught 8 passes for 54 yards (6.8 avg).  Don’t expect miracles out of Matthews but he should help out some in the running game.

The Lions have claimed 24-year old CB/KR Brian Witherspoon off waivers from the Jaguars.  Witherspoon played in 7 games for the Jaguars this season and he had a whopping 3 tackles.  He also returned 7 punts for 78 yards (11.1 avg) and 24 kickoffs for 568 yards (23.7 avg) so far this season.  The Lions will be using Witherspoon to return kicks with Aaron Brown likely having a bigger role in the offense with Kevin Smith out for the season.  Witherspoon has now played in 21 games in his NFL career (2 years) and he has made 16 tackles.  He has also returned 24 punts for 270 yards (11.3 avg) and 76 kickoffs for 1,818 yards (23.9 avg) in his career.  This was a good move for the Lions.

The Lions have lost TE Casey Fitzsimmons for the rest of the season due to a severe concussion.  The 29-year old TE played in 12 games for the Lions this season and he has caught 18 passes for 128 yards (7.1 avg).  He was known more for his run blocking as that is where the Lions will miss him.