The Sports Xchange

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — During yet another listless performance by the Detroit Lions’ offense, wide receiver Calvin Johnson finished with seven catches for 56 yards. But, in a game in which the Lions reached the red zone just once, one more yard from Johnson would’ve given them a probable victory.

Instead, the Lions fell to the Seahawks, 13-10, at CenturyLink Field Monday night, and the manner in which Johnson fell short of a touchdown late in the fourth quarter will overshadow most of what happened in the first 58 minutes of the game.

The Lions reached the Seattle 11 with 1:51 remaining in regulation, and after catching a short pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford, Johnson had an opportunity to score. Instead, as he lunged toward the end zone, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor forced a fumble and the ball went out of the end zone.

But, the ball only went out after Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright batted it out, which should’ve been a penalty that gave the Lions first down inside the 1-yard line. Instead, the back judge who watched the illegal move chose it was not overt, and the Lions left Seattle 0-4 and on the wrong end of a controversial decision.

On Tuesday, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said he wants his team to move past the botched call and that he would tell the players not to discuss it.

“That’ll distract you, and you’ll get your ears kicked in come Sunday afternoon,” Caldwell said, alluding to next Sunday’s game against Arizona. “So we don’t plan to let that happen, so we plan to make certain that our guys focus in on (the game).

“We can’t be hanging on something that happened a night ago that we can do nothing about.”

Dean Blandino, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, said on NFL Network that the referees should have flagged Wright and given the Lions the ball back, but the Lions know the apology won’t change anything.

Caldwell addressed the error for about two minutes in his opening statement, but declined most questions about it. He did have one quip after being told several players on both teams didn’t know the rule.

“There’s obviously officials that don’t know the rule, as well,” he said.

Even though the Lions were frustrated after the game, they didn’t use the missed call as an excuse for another loss.

“At the end of the day,” Johnson said, “you’ve just really got to hold onto the ball. Enough said after that.”

REPORT CARD VS. SEAHAWKS

–PASSING OFFENSE: D. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was 6-for-6 for 73 yards on the final drive, but was too inconsistent before that with just 130 yards on 18-for-29 passing for the first three-plus quarters. Lions receivers also struggled to gain separation for much of the game as the Lions had just two plays of 20-plus yards.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: D. Once again, the Lions could barely generate any production on the ground, finishing with 18 carries for 53 yards. Rookie running back Ameer Abdullah led the team with 33 yards, but needed 13 carries to get them. The Lions also failed on a fullback dive on a third-and-1 and didn’t have a run longer than nine yards.

–PASS DEFENSE: B-plus. The pass rush was excellent for most of the game as the Lions had six sacks and forced two fumbles by quarterback Russell Wilson. The secondary was good for the most part, too, especially strong safety James Ihedigbo, but the Lions gave up two many long gains on broken plays that proved costly.

–RUN DEFENSE: B-plus. For the most part, the run defense was solid as the Lions held the Seahawks to 3.5 yards per carry. However, the Lions let quarterback Russell Wilson escape a few times as he gained 40 yards.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C — The Lions had one takeaway on special teams after a muffed punt, and the turnover was the biggest special teams play of the game. However, punt returner TJ Jones fielded a punt that took him into the end zone, and the Lions had an average night in the punt game.

–COACHING: C-plus. The Lions are not as talented as the Seahawks, so the coaching staff deserves some credit for having the players ready to compete in a close game. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had a great game plan as his unit created plenty of pressure on Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson with the Lions posting six sacks. Offensively, coordinator Joe Lombardi continued to struggled with predictable play-calling, but his team had a chance to win at the end.