What Can the Detroit Lions Offense Do Without Calvin Johnson?

December 25, 2013   ·   Jeff Risdon   ·   Jump to comments

Star receiver Calvin Johnson is questionable to play in the season finale in Minnesota. Some have even suggested that the Detroit Lions should shut down Megatron for the meaningless contest, as MLive’s Kyle Meinke reported.
Even if Johnson does play, it's likely he will be physically limited as he was in the loss to New York. The best wide receiver in the league did not get a single target after the second quarter against the Giants, and he was able to play just 48 of 85 snaps.
This forces offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and his crew to restructure the offense on the fly. Johnson is the proverbial straw that stirs the Detroit drink offensively, the keystone of the passing game.
In the one game this year Johnson missed, the results were not pretty.
Detroit failed to score a touchdown until very late in the 22-9 loss at Green Bay in Week 5. Matthew Stafford did throw for 262 yards, but much of that piled up with the game already decided. 
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