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Joique Bell led the Lions in rushing against Carolina -- but put another ball on the ground, plus dropped a pass. (Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Joique Bell initially declined to speak with reporters. He was too distraught. Felt too culpable for the Detroit Lions' first loss of the season.

And then he decided he had something to say.

"I let my city down," Bell said in the locker room after a 24-7 loss Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. "Coming from a place I have a lot of pride for, I know a lot of people who were pulling for me. And I feel like I let those people down."

Bell is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, which is a big reason he's managed to become a fan favorite without ever being a starter.

He's from the hardscrabble streets of Benton Harbor, and played his college ball at Wayne State, whose campus is just a few miles down the street from Ford Field.

Bell is a Detroiter, through and through. So when he does something great -- and there have been a lot of those moments -- he talks about doing it for the fans. And the same goes for when he struggles, as he did against Carolina.

He dropped a pass -- a play that nearly was ruled a catch-and-fumble -- to kill a 10-play drive to open the game, then fumbled to kill an 11-play drive on the next series.

The Lions ran 21 plays in the opening quarter, possessed the ball for 11:05 and outgained Carolina 126-15. Yet did not score largely because of Bell's mistakes.

"We don't have a whole lot of time to get caught up in the this loss and the mistakes that we made in this game," fellow tailback Reggie Bush said. "We have to correct it. We have to correct it quickly, because we have a big game at home next week against Green Bay.

"We don't have a lot of time to sulk in our mistakes."

Bell and Bush were fabulous last year, when they became the first teammates in NFL history to have both 500 yards rushing and receiving. But they've struggled in the first two games of 2014

Bush has been a massive disappointment, rushing 15 times for just 31 yards. Bell hasn't been much better with 25 carries for 87 yards.

Plus he's fumbled in both games, losing the one against Carolina.

"We have to be more effective running the ball," Bush said. "The run and the pass go hand in hand. If your run game is not effective, then it is going to affect the pass. We need to do a better job as running backs, and as a team too.

"Just run the ball better."

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