A weekly look at what the Detroit Lions must fix:

The Detroit Lions shored up some of their pass-blocking woes the past two weeks, but in order for them to beat the Atlanta Falcons and go on a run to the playoffs, the Lions have to find a way to restore their running game to a semblance of what they had last season.

Coach Jim Caldwell has a stated goal of having his team run for 4 yards per carry as a metric of success. Neither of his main backs, Reggie Bush or Joique Bell, has come close to that mark. Bush is averaging 3.5 yards per carry, Bell 3.3 yards per carry.

So the suggestion on how to fix this might be a little bizarre, but the Lions should move away from a split-carry approach and give more of the touches to Bell, who has 84 carries to Bush’s 49. That number is skewed, though, because Bush has been dealing with an ankle injury. But Bell has looked like the more explosive and decisive runner this season.

Bush still has the chance to be special, but the Lions should be using him in select spots where he can be a game-breaker and let Bell handle the brunt of the load. It’ll give Bell more of a chance to get to understand a defensive scheme and hunt for holes throughout the game.

“It gives me a lot better rhythm, but they kind of planned [a more run-heavy approach] from the beginning,” Bell said. “We knew we were going to be a little more run-heavy. As a running back, you kind of like that, being able to go out there and kind of put the team on your back.”

None of the Lions’ running backs has been able to do that consistently this season, so picking the younger player with fewer yards on his legs to handle the most carries could be the smarter option. Last season was Bell’s first with more than 200 touches. Bush has had more than 200 carries -- not counting receptions -- the past three seasons.