Lions running back Kevin Smith struggled once again in Thursday's 34-12 loss to Green Bay. He gained only 43 yards on 18 carries. Multiple times, he had room to run, only to let someone trip him up.
"I had a bad game," said Smith, who also caught four passes for 46 yards. "This is the type of game that you hit your head on a wall about. There are a few of them where I was real close to slipping out of them. That's on me. Once your line gets you to the second level, that's on me."
The Lions struggled to run even against seven-man fronts. That allowed the Packers to keep their safeties deep to smother wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who played through hand and knee injuries and caught only two passes for 10 yards, even though he was targeted 12 times. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw four interceptions.
"We weren't able to run the ball against Cover Two, and that's been a problem for us," coach Jim Schwartz said. "We had a hard time getting open. Anytime you're in that situation, and when they're playing for pass and we're not able to consistently run the ball, you know you set yourself up for plays that we had turnovers."
Lions news
