Detroit Lions: 3 Things that can’t go as badly in Week 2 vs. 49ers

Running game futility

The Lions were really bad at running the ball in the opener. They were so bad, that it is very unlikely they will repeat the performance. Even their historical inability to rush the ball doesn’t often reach the level of inadequacy their fans saw last week.

The Lions only ran the ball 15 times on Monday night. They gained a mere 39 yards on those rushing attempts. They are No. 32 in both yardage and yards per carry.

There was some room for optimism, however, though not much. LeGarrette Blount averaged negative yardage on the night. His presence on the field let the Jets disregard a potential receiving target completely and load up against the run.

Kerryon Johnson and Theo Riddick combined for 37 yards on nine carries. Those numbers came mostly after the Lions were down, and the Jets defense was playing a pass-oriented defensive game.

It is not reasonable to expect the Lions to suddenly be among the league’s best rushing teams, but Darron Lee of the Jets said that their defense was able to predict the Lions plays based on formation, motion and Stafford’s hand signals. There is no chance that the Lions will have left those aspects of their game plan intact for Week 2.