ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions scored 13 points in their first half of football with Reggie Bush. They scored 21 in their second half, and 14 in their third.
They scored none in their lone half without him.
Detroit Lions tailback Reggie Bush escapes the clutches of Arizona's Darnell Dockett during Sunday's loss.
Bush suffered a left knee injury during Sunday's 25-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He attempted a comeback, but exited the game for good following a fumble deep in Detroit territory that he directly attributed to the knee.
The Lions' offense flat-lined without him, offering a foreboding sign of what this unit could look like if the veteran tailback misses extended time. Joique Bell is his primary backup.
"Calvin (Johnson) was making a lot more plays in the first half because of the dynamic with Reggie," coach Jim Schwartz said. "When he went out of the game, we weren't really able to maintain that.
"(Bush) means an awful lot to us. If we're going to be without him, we need to find other ways to move the ball and other ways to score. We didn't get that done in the second half of this game. He certainly has that ability. He's a good fit in our offense and we're going to work to get him back here as soon as we can."
Bush is undergoing a battery of tests this week, and the early prognosis is optimistic. The same can't be said of the Lions' offense without him.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was 16-of-20 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the first half against Arizona, but just 8-of-16 for 68 yards in the second.
Detroit had 232 yards in the first half, and 90 in the second.
It had 12 first downs in the first half, and four in the second.
It didn't convert a single third down without Bush in the second half of that game.
"It's just tough because he's one of our big guns," receiver Nate Burleson said, "and we rely on his playmaking ability."
The Lions have seen what they can be with Bush in the lineup -- dynamic, multiple and at times unstoppable. His rushing ability out of the backfield, and especially his catching ability in the flat, force defenses to respect the box.
Without Bush on the field, they can devote more resources to stopping Johnson.
So it's little coincidence that Johnson racked up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns with Bush on the field, but was held to 20 yards and no touchdowns without him.
"We never really consistently got the run game going," Schwartz said. "When we weren't able to do that, it made it easier to defend our pass game. I think we could have alleviated it a different way and picked up the run game a little bit more. We weren't able to get that done."
The game served as a referendum on just how dependent the Lions already are on Bush, just two games into his tenure. This is an explosive, difficult-to-defend attack with him, and a pretty ordinary outfit without him.