Detroit Lions

One statistic perfectly sums up sorry state of Lions' running game

Published Nov. 10, 2015 10:38 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Detroit Lions have been subpar in almost every aspect of the game this season, but their rushing attack has been particularly impotent.

Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman summed up Detroit's struggles on the ground with just one statistic. He pointed out that rookie running back Ameer Abdullah is the team's leading rusher with 225 yards this season, which ranks 49th in the NFL (behind four quarterbacks).

The Lions have the worst rushing offense in the league with an average of 69.6 yards per game. The performance of the offensive line has been the root of the problem. When former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi was fired last month, so were offensive line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan.

The Lions have athletic ball-carriers in Abdullah and Theo Riddick. They also have a reliable veteran in Joique Bell at running back. All three of them are rendered useless when the blockers in front of them can't get the job done.