Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Lions in loss to Patriots:

Quarterback:C-

Here's all you need to know about Matthew Stafford's day: Fourth-and-10 early in the fourth quarter, he's flushed out of the pocket and slides after a 9-yard gain, short of the sticks. Once again, Stafford wasn't the Lions' biggest problem, but he's got to be better than 18 of 46 for 264 yards. He missed an open Eric Ebron once when he went to a covered Calvin Johnson instead, and could stand to lead his receivers more on some of his throws (like a fourth-quarter pass that Brandon Browner swatted out of Johnson's hands).

Running backs: C+

Playing without Reggie Bush for the second straight game, the Lions ran the ball decently in the first half. They should have, though, with the Patriots ganged up to stop the pass. Joique Bell (19 carries, 48 yards) averaged just 2.5 yards a carry, and Theo Riddick was used sparingly in the run game (two carries) and caught just three of six passes thrown his way.

Receivers & tight ends: F

The Lions had problems getting open against a good secondary for the second straight week, and when they did they had far too many drops. Calvin Johnson dropped his first target of the game, Joseph Fauria bobbled a pass in the end zone, Corey Fuller let another touchdown sail through his fingers and Eric Ebron dropped a nice touch pass by Stafford in the third quarter. Johnson did make a nice diving catch late in the third quarter and Golden Tate had four catches for 97 yards to top 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, with 1,047.

Offensive line: C-

Stafford was under a fair amount of pressure. He took two sacks and the Patriots were credited with six quarterback hits, but considering the Lions played two rookie backups most of the game it could have been worse. Riley Reiff suffered a knee injury on the first play of the game and Cornelius Lucas struggled in his place. Lucas gave up a sack on the second series when Akeem Ayers powered him back then ducked, and he had personal-foul and illegal-use-of-the-hands penalties in the fourth quarter. Travis Swanson gave up a Rob Ninkovich sack when he didn't trade off pass rushers on a stunt, and Ninkovich had a second sack on a stunt that was negated by a defensive holding penalty. Dominic Raiola was called for a head-bob false start, and Raiola let his emotions get the best of him when he dove at a Patriots player on the game's final play.

Defensive line: D

The Lions have relied on their defensive line to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks all year, but they barely laid a hand on Tom Brady and failed to get a sack for the second straight week. Ndamukong Suh had four tackles despite constant double-teams. Suh and Jason Jones both jumped offsides on the first play of the second half, and C.J. Mosley had a silly personal foul on a field-goal try. The Patriots didn't try to run much, but they finished with 90 yards on 20 carries.

Linebackers: D

New England's up-tempo offense left the Lions looking confused most of the first half, including twice late in the second quarter when they forgot to cover Rob Gronkowski. That wasn't all DeAndre Levy's fault, but he was at least lined up over Gronkowski before the snap. Levy finished with 10 tackles and Tahir Whitehead made a good play to sniff out a screen, but the linebackers share in the defensive woes overall. Kyle Van Noy played sparingly, but he allowed a 16-yard pass when Patriots were backed up inside the 10 when he didn't get wide enough in zone.

Defensive backs: F

The Lions had far too many coverage breakdowns, when Brady completed 38 of 53 passes with a handful of drops. Tim Wright was wide open on both touchdowns because of what appeared to be a miscommunication in the back end. James Ihedigbo gave a hand signal before bailing on coverage on the first, and Rashean Mathis and a safety appeared confused on the second. Mathis and Glover Quin missed tackles on LeGarrette Blount's 23-yard run in the third quarter, Cassius Vaughn drew a holding penalty that gave the Patriots a first down on third-and-7, and Darius Slay was called for a defensive holding that was declined.

Special teams: D

It was another ugly day for special teams. Matt Prater drilled a 48-yard field goal on the opening drive, but his miss from 53 gave the Patriots good field position for their own field-goal drive just before halftime. The Lions also gave up two long punt returns, though Julian Edelman's touchdown return was called back by a block in the back. And Jeremy Ross has to get more than 1 yard on Ryan Allen's 66-yard punt that flipped field position in the first quarter.

Coaching: D+

There's no shame in losing at Gillette Stadium, most teams do, and the Patriots might be the best team in the NFL right now. But the Lions looked lost defensively way too often Sunday. Jim Caldwell made a couple curious decisions, punting on a fourth-and-3 at the New England 39 early in the game, attempting a field goal early in the fourth quarter when they were down 21 points (though a fourth-and-14 would have been difficult to convert) and going for a fourth-and-10 a series later when they could have cut their deficit to two scores. It was nice to see Tate get more involved early, and Caldwell won his only challenge (though he probably should have flagged Julian Edelman's first-half catch on the sideline, too).

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.