There were things the Detroit Lions did well in their 23-13 loss at Cincinnati.
Wide receiver 
The defense forced three turnovers – two interceptions and one sack-fumble – and held the Bengals to just one touchdown, including 0-for-2 in the red zone.
Still, Head Coach Jim Schwartz didn’t want to stock anything on progress.
“We lost,” he said. “Progress is winning games – it’s not doing anything else. We need to win. We need to win on the road – it’s been way too long since we’ve won on the road. We need to find a way to get that done.”
Time of possession was a significant struggle for Detroit. The Bengals had the ball for more than 17 minutes longer than the Lions and Detroit had the ball for just 2:48 in the third quarter.
"I'm not worried about when we get the ball or how long we get the ball for, all I know is that when we get the ball, we have to do something with the ball and we don't do that – (we go) three-and-out,” said center
“You can't go three-and-out. You can't win like that. When we're on the field our job is to produce and we didn't produce enough and that's a problem"
To Detroit’s credit, Cincinnati went into this game as the top defense in regards to points allowed, averaging 15.8 points allowed per game.
But neither Schwartz nor his players are going to hang their hats on that. The idea is to win the game, not hope for the best against a strong opponent.
“We didn’t capitalize on opportunities,” said Calvin Johnson. “The defense got us two turnovers with great field position and we couldn’t punch it in, we couldn’t get (enough) points off of it. It’s very frustrating.
“We jumped out there early and really couldn’t bring anything else with that. It’s frustrating but we’ve got to keep fighting.”
It is frustrating to perform well and not have a victory to show for it.
Cincinnati’s first touchdown was on a tipped pass that fell into the hands of defensive end Jonathan Fanene, who returned it 45 yards.
After that, the Detroit defense held the Bengals to field goals on three drives and got the ball at the 50 when the score was still 20-7.
“We got off to a lead and then sort of gave that back on a little bit of a freak play, getting the ball tipped and falling into the hands of a guy and all of a sudden it’s seven to seven,” said Schwartz.
“Guys didn’t stop fighting; they fought right until the end. I’m proud of our effort. Not proud of the loss, but I’m proud of our effort.”
One thing Schwartz wasn’t pleased with was penalties. Detroit had seven penalties for 45 yards and they were costly ones.
On the Lions’ second offensive drive of the game, they were 3rd-and-5 on the Cincinnati 49-yard line. Cincinnati had an illegal contact that would have given Detroit a fresh set of downs well into Bengals’ territory, but an illegal formation offset the penalty.
“That was an inexcusable error,” said Schwartz. “That would have kept the drive alive. It’s in their territory, it’s still early in the game and we have a chance to get in scoring position.
“There were numerous penalties that hurt us today. Two times we touched the ball on punt (coverage) when we were the first guy out of bounds. One time is too many there and two times is inexcusable. We had other penalties; we didn’t play smart. We played tough, we played hard, (but) we didn’t play smart.”
Detroit will hit the road again next week, traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
The Lions will undoubtedly look forward to getting back on the field, but there will be some questions regarding the health of certain players.
Cornerback
Schwartz does not want to rule out any players before there is a chance for further evaluation.
“It’s probably too early to tell, but I don’t anticipate it being anything other than banging the same sore shoulder,” said Schwartz of Stafford. “I don’t think it’s any worse than that.”
Stafford echoed that sentiment, but will also wait to see what team doctors say.
"Obviously everyone wants to be healthy,” he said, “but I dare you to find someone that feels great right now at this point of the season. It's one of those things that you have to deal with. It's a tough season and it's a long one. You have to just come ready to work everyday."
