Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his Twitter account @ttwentyman in a feature we call "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: I enlisted the help of Lions assistant director of football communications Eamonn Reynolds with this one, and this is what I've got for you.
Stafford will play in his 100th game on Sunday, but is already tops among all NFL quarterbacks in passing yards through their first 100 games with 27,624. Dan Marino (27,064) and Kurt Warner (26,097) rank second and third.
Stafford also ranks first in completions (2,392), ahead of Matt Ryan (2,242) and Peyton Manning (2,216).
In terms of touchdowns, Stafford is fifth all-time over a quarterback's first 100 games. Marino is first with 217, followed by Aaron Rodgers (203), Brett Favre (187), and Manning (178). Stafford has 177, so he has a chance to pass Manning this weekend vs. Washington in his 100th game.
How about 300-yard passing games? Stafford is fourth with 32. Warner (44), Marino (35) and Rodgers (34) are ahead of him.
Stafford does hold the record for 350-yard games, however. He has 18. Marino had 17 and Warner 16.
20man: Let's start with the injuries. Those certainly aren't helping matters.
But the two things that jump out to me are coverage issues and an average pass rush. The two very much go hand in hand.
Opposing quarterbacks are completing an astonishing 73.7 percent of their passes against the Lions. The 17 touchdown passes the Lions have given up are the most in the NFL. Opposing QB passer rating when facing Detroit is 119.3. That's the highest rating in the league.
Opposing offenses are averaging 6.4 yards per play, the third highest mark in the league. For comparison's sake, the Vikings are allowing 4.4 yards per play.
Detroit has 13 sacks, which ranks 12th, but they're ranked as the worst overall pass rush by Pro Football Focus. Kerry Hyder is the only player along Detroit's defensive line with more than seven pressures on the season. He has 12.
The Lions have to find ways to get more consistent pressure on the quarterbacks, and then play much better behind it.
20man: You can't blame all the Lions' defensive woes to the loss of Levy. But that being said, he is an All-Pro player, and his versatility makes a lot of things much easier on defense. A big problem area through the first six games for Detroit's defense has been that opponents are exploiting their linebackers in coverage. It's been a field day for opposing running backs and tight ends.
This is a copycat league. Teams keep exploiting it every week, and will continue to do so. That's where they miss Levy the most, in my opinion. He's one of the better cover linebackers in the NFL when he's healthy and playing like himself.
20man: The Redskins have playmakers at every level.
I don't think they can sell out against one particular area – like they did last week on defense trying to stop Rams RB Todd Gurley – and get away with it.
Redskins running back Matt Jones is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, which ranks among the highest averages per rush among running backs.
It's been well documented the problems the Lions have had against opposing tight ends, and Jordan Reed is among the best in the NFL. He leads the Redskins with 33 receptions. Reed missed last week's game with a concussion, so that's worth monitoring this week.
Let's not forget about DeSean Jackson, who is consistently one of the best deep threats in football year-in and year-out.
Washington's other receiver, Pierre Garcon, is very good over the middle.
Washington ranks fifth in the NFL in total yards per game (387.2) and passing yards (276.8). It will be a big challenge for the defense to contain them.
Expect another shootout at Ford Field.
20man: I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised with Decker's play early on. He's been pretty darn good at the left tackle spot for the Lions.
The praise on Conklin has been well deserved. He's been very good for Tennessee playing right tackle. He hasn't allowed a single sack or hit on the quarterback in six games, and is credited with allowing just nine pressures. He's also been very good as a run blocker.
Decker's been credited with allowing three sacks, three hits and 10 pressures.
In three games at left tackle for Baltimore, rookie Ronnie Stanley has allowed one sack, one pressure and seven hurries.
Two other first-round picks, Laremy Tunsil (Miami) and Germain Ifedi (Seattle), have begun their careers at guard.
20man: It's still the same. I don't remember the question specifically, but I'm sure my response was probably something to the effect of Stafford couldn't yet be considered among the "elite" NFL quarterbacks in the league because the Lions haven't won enough.
Stafford was asked Wednesday what statistic he looks at the closest in determining if he played well or not. His first response was wins and losses. There you have it.
Fair or unfair, quarterbacks are ultimately evaluated on wins and losses.
I consider Super Bowl winners such as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger elite.
Stafford is an upper echelon quarterback. He's certainly playing at an elite level early on this season, but to be considered among those players mentioned above, he and the Lions have to win more.
20man: This is way too early, Tyler, but heck, I'll indulge.
Not knowing any of the Lions' needs after free agency, or who is even coming out in the draft, I'd say it's never a bad idea to draft playmakers on defense. A team can never have too many of those players on defense. Just ask the Minnesota Vikings.
20man: This has to be code for 'my fantasy football situation isn't looking good at running back, and I'm hoping Washington can help.'
I might have good news for you.
The good news is that Washington practiced again Wednesday. That's always a good sign when a player returns to the practice field early in the week. He practiced in a limited fashion last Friday.
If healthy, I'd expect Washington to continue to play a role in Detroit's offense, and be the goal-line back. Theo Riddick did not practice Wednesday with an ankle injury. We'll have to monitor that as the week goes on, but if he doesn't play, and Washington is ready, I'd expect Washington to get a nice workload.
20man: Game plans change from week to week, but given how well Zach Zenner ran last week in place of Riddick and Washington, I believe that when all backs are healthy and available, the pecking could go Riddick, Washington, Zenner then Forsett.
20man: I can't really answer that question, Doug.
All I know is that Levy is in the building and working hard to get back. The fact that the team hasn't placed him on IR tells me they are still holding out hope for his return at this point.
There isn't any magic formula GM Bob Quinn can come up with outside of Levy's return or a trade to improve that unit. I don't see a free agent signing off the street making a huge difference at this point.
