DETROIT -- An examination of what the Lions must do after their win over the Giants:

The numbers were at least a little bit staggering for the Detroit Lions at first. One half into their season, and half of their offense became essentially ineffective.

Joique Bell and Reggie Bush, the team’s two-headed running back, touched the ball 11 times. They gained a total of 12 yards -- 10 of them coming on one run from Bell. While the Lions were able to pass the ball easily, they couldn’t get either of their running backs going.

Yes, Detroit finished with 76 yards on 30 carries, but other than one elongated drive in the second half, neither Bush nor Bell looked particularly productive. Considering what is to come for the Lions, this is an area that needs improvement, as the opponents become tougher starting Sunday against Carolina.

“I really felt like New York was playing well up front,” left guard Rob Sims said. “They were stuffing us, and it was always an extra safety. They were really loading our box up. We just kept after it, and when we needed to run, we ran it.”

Detroit was particularly good rushing in a pass-first offense last season under Scott Linehan, with both Bush and Bell getting 500 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving. Bush rushed for more than 1,000 yards, the first time that happened with the Lions in a decade.

On Monday night, though, the run game looked bad until Detroit had a lead at the end of the game and went run heavy both in play-call and to grind clock. That this is one of the Lions’ biggest issues at this point -- and it was still at least mildly successful -- is a good sign for Detroit after the first week of the season.

But as good as Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson looked Monday night, Detroit knows it needs running back production similar to last season for there to be continued success for the Lions this season.