Make no mistake, Lions lost because of bad coaching

Detroit --The Lions can still give you a headache, and not hit you anywhere except in the heart.

There are no rules to prevent what they can do to crush their fans' hopes.

You slap your forehead with the heel of your hand, stomp your feet and throw the remote at the television.

Those are the repetitive-strain injuries from watching the Lions lose.

They showed again why credibility and success are things that forever dangle just beyond their reach in Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Jets at Ford Field.

For most of the first 60 minutes, the Lions held the brass ring. But in the end, they were empty-handed -- losing the game after holding a 10-point lead late into the fourth quarter, and losing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford to a second injury in eight games to his right shoulder.

There were enough burning questions in the game to turn the Great North Woods into an ash pit. None was more glaring than an inexplicably bad play call and execution on the Lions' last possession.

Here are the burning questions from Sunday's game:

Q: The Lions made mistakes at the end, but what was the biggest reason for the loss?

A: This one goes on coaching. No question. Coach Jim Schwartz faulted himself for major mistakes made at the end.

He should be taken at his word. It was a coaching loss.

Q: One big decision came at the two-minute warning. The Lions had third-and-6 with Drew Stanton in for Stafford. The Lions led, 20-17, and the Jets were out of timeouts.

Instead of a running play, Stanton rolled right and threw an incomplete pass meant for Jerome Felton, stopping the clock. What was the right call?

A: Taking a sack would have been better. The Jets instead got the ball at their 22 on a punt with 1:40 left, rather than a minute or less remaining had Stanton not thrown the ball and the clock continued to run.

Q: How did the Jets react to the play?

A: Judging by the comments from offensive lineman Damien Woody, a former Lion, they were stunned -- and grateful.

"In that situation, even if they call a pass, run it," Woody said. "That would eat up 40 more seconds. I was definitely shocked he threw the ball.

"At that point, he just did us a huge favor. It's not about yards. It's about eating up the clock. It comes down to time management."

Q: How did Schwartz explain it?

A: He said he did a poor job of communicating in the timeout for the two-minute warning. Either he was covering for his player, or he was overstating the obvious.

"Looking back on it, don't even give them the option to pass," Schwartz said. "Drew didn't want to take a lost yardage on the play. I didn't make myself clear enough that we shouldn't worry about taking a lost-yardage play."

Q: Jason Hanson went out midway through the third quarter with an injury to his right (kicking) leg. He was hit making a short field goal. A penalty against the Jets gave the Lions a first down, and they wound up scoring a touchdown.

With Hanson being treated for the injury, Ndamukong Suh was summoned to kick the extra point. He missed, hitting the right upright. The missed point came back to haunt the Lions.

What mistake was made there?

A: Schwartz acknowledged he should have called time, to let Suh prepare to kick. Suh has a soccer background, and Schwartz said he has done some kicking in practice.

"He's done it in practice," Schwartz said. "He was put in a difficult position. We probably should have called timeout, to give him time to get ready."

The lost point was crucial. The Jets would have needed a touchdown instead of a field goal on their last possession of regulation.

Calling time is something the coaches should have thought of before Suh's extra-point try, not 90 minutes later.

Q: Who won the battle between Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis and Lions receiver Calvin Johnson? Johnson had one catch for 13 yards.

A: The winner was Lions receiver Nate Burleson. He had room to operate and caught seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.

Q: Before Sunday, the Lions were getting credibility for their performance, despite a 2-5 record. Where is their credibility now?

A: It's shattered. They used to lack talent. Now they're losing with good players, and that's a lot worse than before.

They've free-fallen from having credibility to a loss that can be explained by one word: "Incredible."