Motor City meltdown... what defense?

22 first downs. 390 total yards of offense. Santana Moss finally showed up and played out of his mind. What the hell happened? For the second time this year the Washington defense could simply not get off the field.

Losers of 19 straight, the Lions - led by their rookie QB - marched down the field on drives of 99, 74 and 86 yards in the first half. 12 plays, 11 plays, 18 plays. Worst part is, on each of those 3 consecutive drives, the lowly Lions assumed possession inside their 7-yard-line. They held the T.O.P. advantage in the first half by 14 minutes! That first half domination was the difference.

I officially owe the Lions offense an apology. I simplified stopping them to merely stopping Calvin Johnson. #81 was more or less held in check but it was everyone else that seemed to take part in the offensive clinic ran on Greg Blatche’s unit Sunday.

Stafford threw for 241 and no INTs. RB Kevin Smith racked up 100+ on a Skins defense that excelled at stopping the run in the first 2 games. Bryant Johnson caught one TD and was involved in a crucial defensive pass interference that put the game out of reach. Efficiency. Props to Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for completely exposing the Washington D.

So what happened? The Lions ran for 154 yards. They converted 10 of 18 on 3^rd down. Where was Albert Haynesworth? Where was that pass rush? Why is Landry seemingly nonexistent in run support? How could Stafford be allowed to scramble for 21 yards on a pivotal 3^rd and long?

Greg Blatche was simply outcoached. The Redskins were outplayed. They rose to the occasion in the last 2 weeks but became complacent and overlooked a Lions offense that unofficially passed the torch for Most Embarrassing Franchise Sunday afternoon. It’s the unheralded players like Horton, Fletch and Doughty that show up every week they’re called upon. The aura of superiority placed on big names like Haynesworth, DeAngelo and Landry needs to be reevaluated at the end of the season.

MVP goes to Fletch. He led the Skins with 16 tackles, one for a loss. He laid the lumber on more than one occasion. More importantly, he never missed an assignment. If only the same could be said for the rest of his teammates.

Bad, bad loss. It will be interesting to see if someone from the defense steps up and takes responsibility knowing what kind of hostility Jim Zorn, and most likely Jason Campbell, will face in the next few days.