Lions head coach Jim Schwartz actually said they should have done a better job given the scheme the 49ers laid out in front of them.
“San Francisco, in particular, took an approach that they were going to try and limit the passing game and we need to be able to rush for more than 3.0 (yards) per carry,” Schwartz said. “I mean, one of those rushes included our quarterback.
“I think that efficiency in our run game - which is something we had the week before with the same players - and the scheme that was designed to try to take the big play away ... is something that we’re looking to do.
“Last week ran the ball efficiently. We didn’t run it a whole lot of times, but we ran it efficiently - 4.6 or 4.8 (yards per carry) or something like that. This game we ran the ball more, but it wasn’t as efficient. There are a lot of things we can do better.”
The run game was limited to 82 yards on 26 carries (3.3 average) against a 49ers defense that’s ranked among the league’s best run stoppers over the last three seasons. In last week’s victory over the Rams, the Lions had 83 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Schwartz is hopeful getting second-year running back
“Well, we’ve been waiting to see him for a long time,” Schwartz said of Leshoure, who missed his rookie season with an Achilles injury. “We drafted him in the second round. We had high expectations for him. He was showing us all the things we needed before his rookie year when he got hurt.
“You know, he flashed in the preseason here, knocking the rust off, and then … doing some of the things where we have some gaps in our offense that I think he can fill. He’s a good player. He’s healthy and we’re looking forward to getting him back on the field.”
The Lions still have 48 hours to place Leshoure on the roster and make a subsequent transaction to make room for him. That move will come sometime before Wednesday’s scheduled practice.
The team will also work out free agent running backs Steve Slaton and Ryan Grant on Tuesday, according to Cbssports.com's Jason La Canfora.
“I’m not going to comment on guys we would potentially bring in or anything like that, but we do need to run the ball a little better,” Schwartz said Monday when asked about the report.
FLORENCE INJURED
The Lions came out of Sunday’s game relatively unscathed, but the one significant injury they did suffer - cornerback
Florence suffered an arm injury against the 49ers and Schwartz said the team could “potentially” be dealing with an injury that is more than day-to-day.
“It doesn’t look real good, but we’ll see,” he said.
Florence, 32, who signed as a free agent after the final cuts of the preseason, made the start at left cornerback for the injured
The Lions were already down three-quarters of their starting secondary in that game with injuries to Houston, cornerback
The Lions could be in the market for some cornerback help this week depending on the status of both Houston and Bentley for this week’s game in Tennessee.
As for Delmas, who hasn’t practice since undergoing knee surgery Aug. 7, Schwartz said he was progressing but couldn’t say if he’s be ready to play this week or not.
“You know, it’s hard to say,” Schwartz said. “I think he is trending upward, but how quickly and whether he’ll be back, only this week will be able to tell us.
"Again, we don’t have a particular timetable other than how he feels, you know. You can’t force an issue. You can’t say ‘hey look he’s going to be back in two weeks, one week, six weeks, whatever it is.’
"Everybody’s body’s a little bit different and we just take it day-by-day, week-by-week with him and see how he’s doing.”
