Midseason Grades: Lions' Offense

Brandon Justice hands out his midseason grades for the Lions' offense

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions have hit the halfway point of the 2019 season. 

You know what that means: It's report card time.

Despite Detroit's struggles in recent weeks, Matt Patricia's squad isn't failing in every category.

In fact, one unit has been outdoing the other by a large margin.

Today, we’ll discuss the offense, and tomorrow, we'll dive into the defense.

Let's break it down by position group, and hand out some grades to the offense of the 3-4-1 Lions.

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford is playing as good as any quarterback in the NFL in 2019.

He's outperformed the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers' Philip Rivers and the Eagles' Carson Wentz in head-to-head matchups.

The only game in which he was the second-best quarterback was against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 6 -- a game which the Lions controversially lost by one point, 23-22.

Stafford is second in the league in passing touchdowns (19), fourth in passing yards (2,499) and fifth in passer rating (106.0).

NFL.com's QB Index ranked him No. 6 in the league, heading into Detroit's Week 9 game in Oakland.

Following a 406-yard and three-touchdown performance, it wouldn't be shocking to see Stafford crack the top five in this week's "Index."

Grade: A+

Running backs

As the old saying goes, your running backs are only as good as your offensive line allows them to be.

Maybe that's the reason for Detroit's lack of a steady ground game, which has been the case both with and without the now-injured Kerryon Johnson. 

But the primary source of the problem seems to be the talent in the backfield without Johnson. 

Leaving things up to rookie Ty Johnson and fourth-year pro J.D. McKissic likely won’t be a remedy for the team's run game struggles. 

The Lions rank 21st in rushing yards per game at 96 yards a game. 

However, since losing Kerryon, they have ranked 26th in the department

They will face five rushing defenses ranked inside the Top 11 of the league in the final six games of the season. 

The definition of tough sledding ahead.

Grade: D

Wide receivers

When your top two receivers -- Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones -- sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFL in touchdown receptions, you know things are going quite well as a position. 

Golladay is tied with the Buccaneers' Mike Evans with seven TDs, while Jones is tied with six other receivers with six. 

No other receiving corps, at the moment, can say it’s better than Detroit’s.

Grade: A+

Tight ends

Jesse James has been all right when called upon, but hasn’t lived up to his wage. 

Meanwhile, Logan Thomas is beginning to look like a very capable NFL tight end, following his transition from quarterback.

And then there’s rookie T.J. Hockensen. The Iowa product ranks 13th among tight ends in receiving yards (296), and has also hauled in two touchdown catches.

Despite a couple drops, he’s lived up to expectations so far.

The blocking ability displayed by "Hock" has been a plus, too.

Grade: B

Offensive line

Detroit ranks 14th in sacks allowed per game at 2.2. 

However, it ranks two spots better in sack percentage allowed at 5.83 percent.

We’ve already touched upon the struggles in the run game. 

Sure, some of that can be blamed on this unit. However, the talent at running back holds the organization back the most on the ground.

Graham Glasgow has ascended in a big way, while Frank Ragnow is quickly becoming one of the NFL’s best centers, per Pro Football Focus.

At tackle, though, veterans Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner are leaving a lot to be desired, given their large contracts.

All in all, it’s an above-average unit that’s maybe one or two pieces away from being one of the league’s best.

Grade: B-

More: Lions Add RB Bo Scarbrough and P Matt Wile to Practice Squad