DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions were already down their coach, defensive coordinator and three position coaches due to COVID-19 close contact quarantine. Then their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, played a series before suffering an ankle injury, ending his day.
The combination of that, along with a season already lost, led to this: one of the worst losses in franchise history.
The Lions lost 47-7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, the team's worst home defeat in the Super Bowl era and fourth-worst home loss of all time. It's the ninth time in the team's history the Lions lost by 40 or more points.
"The issue was on offense we couldn't stay on the field," Lions receivers coach/acting head coach Robert Prince said. "And on defense we couldn't get off the field."
Prior to Saturday, the team's worst loss at home in the Super Bowl era was a 55-17 blowout by San Francisco on Dec. 19, 1993. That Lions team ended up winning the division -- Detroit's last divisional title -- and going 10-6. This Lions team had already been eliminated from the playoffs and clinched their third straight losing season.
Saturday marked the team's worst loss since Stafford's rookie season, 2009, when the Lions lost 48-3 at Baltimore.
It's also the first time Detroit has allowed 588 yards of offense or more since Nov. 4, 1990, when the Lions gave up 676 yards to Washington.
"We got our butts kicked today," Lions backup quarterback Chase Daniel said. "And it's no fun."
The Lions' defense was run by Evan Rothstein, the team's head coach assistant/research and analysis, after defensive coordinator Cory Undlin and the team's three primary defensive position coaches were all ruled out due to COVID-19 close contact protocols.
Detroit had a chance to get a three-and-out on its first defensive possession, but end Everson Griffen was offside, negating a stop and continuing a drive that ended in a touchdown and began an onslaught.
"It was. My penalty did start that," Griffen said. "I got to be smart and watch the ball and not listen to the cadence. I thought I was pretty good, though. Thought I was pretty good but I guess I jumped offside.
"If we were able to get three-and-out, maybe we could have had a different type of game, but they came out firing."
It got out of hand Saturday, in large part, because of Stafford's absence.
Stafford, who had already been battling rib and right thumb injuries, hurt his right ankle on his first series when he collided with Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White.
Trainers surrounded Stafford on the sideline after he left the field. After a retaping, Stafford stood up and tried to put weight on the ankle. He sat back down and moments later popped back up and hopped about 30 yards to the entrance to the Detroit locker room.
Prince did not have any further information on Stafford after the game -- and Stafford was not made available to the media postgame. Both Prince and backup quarterback Chase Daniel said they had no information about the severity of Stafford's injury and his potential availability for the season finale next Sunday against Minnesota.
Stafford was ruled out of the game during halftime. He completed 2 of 3 passes for 17 yards before leaving the game and spent the second half on the sideline in sweats, watching backups Chase Daniel and David Blough finish.
The Lions, with Daniel at quarterback, trailed Tampa Bay 34-0 at half.
"We feel on offense like we need to go out and we need to score every drive," Daniel said. "That's always been the case, every offense I've ever been on, right? So when you don't, you put your defense in a bad spot, and especially against Tom Brady and that offense.
"And then we're just trying to still run our offense out there, trying to protect the football, trying not to turn the ball over, sustain drives, and then the biggest thing today was not sustaining drives."
The Lions were 1 of 10 on third down and put up just 186 yards of offense in quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan's debut as a playcaller. "Us as an offense," Daniel said. "We didn't help him out at all."
Lions starting center Joe Dahl, who replaced injured center Frank Ragnow, was also declared out for the game with a back injury in the third quarter.
This was already a day when Detroit was without interim head coach Darrell Bevell, defensive coordinator Cory Undlin and three position coaches. The Lions were also without two starting offensive linemen -- Ragnow and Tyrell Crosby -- and their top receiver, Kenny Golladay, on offense.