Is the Detroit Lions ground game running on empty?

The Detroit Lions have struggled to run the ball this season and now with Kerryon Johnson out at least eight weeks, is there any relief in sight?

The Detroit Lions will face the New York Giants today in a game they need to win to keep any of their fledgling playoff hopes alive.

But no one will be too surprised if Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell spend an extra few minutes staring longingly at the Giants outstanding young running back, Saquan Barkley.

Both Saquan Barkley and Kerryon Johnson are highly regarded second-year backs who could be the cornerstone of the Giants and Lions ground games for the next 10 years, health permitting. Unfortunately, so far health has not been on Kerryon’s side.

For the second straight season, Johnson has gone down with an injury that could possibly keep him down for the count.

Johnson injured his knee last Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and was placed on IR. Conceivably he could be back in eight weeks for the Lions match-up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it is also possible that for the second straight year he will be done for the season.

With Johnson out, the Lions will turn to the ‘other’ Johnson. Rookie runner Ty Johnson from Maryland seems to be the man who will get the majority of the carries while Kerryon is out. However, the Lions have stressed that they will fill Kerryon’s shoes by committee.

That means that J.D. McKissic, Tra Carson and Paul Perkins should all see time in the backfield as they try to make up for Kerryon’s absence. Which isn’t too much of a shocker because quite frankly Matt Patricia would prefer to have a running back by committee rotation anyways. Despite the fact that Kerryon has carried the vast majority of the workload so far this season.

The real question at this point is; will the Lions be able to muster any kind of productive ground game in Kerryon’s absence? Especially since they have struggled to run the ball even when Kerryon was in the lineup.