Lions coach Jim Schwartz offered fans searching for answers a simple explanation Monday as to what went wrong during Detroit’s 27-20 loss to the Packers on Sunday night: When it counted, his team couldn’t get the job done.

Schwartz’s explanation seems an obvious one, but it was certainly necessary following the Lions’ NFL record-tying third straight loss after holding a 10-point or larger lead. In this particular loss, however, Detroit’s double-digit advantage came on the first two drives of the game. That early productivity represented a departure from the slow starts that have hurt the team all season, including the first two losses of the record-tying streak.

The key difference, Schwartz admitted was a pair of turnovers by QB Matthew Stafford, whose first-half fumble was returned for a touchdown by Green Bay, and whose interception on the ensuing drive squandered all the momentum Detroit had earned by taking an early 14-0 lead.  

“We came out and we started fast in this one, but let [the Packers] right back into it,” Schwartz said. “Any time you have a game that’s weather conditions are the way they are, taking care of the football is paramount. One of the reasons we had a 14-0 lead is because they turned the ball over early in the game, but both times we turned it over we were on the [Packers’] side of the field.”

While he wouldn’t excuse Stafford’s play on either miscue, Schwartz did point out that both turnovers were borne out of circumstances unique to Sunday’s game. The fumble, he said, was simply an unfortunate result of the snowy conditions. Schwartz also said Stafford’s interception was the result of a miscommunication between the quarterback and receiver Kris Durham, who was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad five days before the game because of the Lions’ WR injury issues.

“[The interception was] sort of the price you pay for losing three receivers,” he said.  “That’s Kris Durham’s first game. He’s practiced an awful lot with Matt, played with him a little bit in college, but that was his first time going out there. We didn’t have him during training camp, we didn’t have him in the offseason program, [communication] comes from a long time together and seeing things exactly the same way. It certainly cost us.”

Make no mistake, Schwartz isn’t blaming the loss entirely on Stafford’s errors. In fact, he appeared to be more displeased by what he perceived as a lack of a response when the turnovers put his team in a difficult situation.

“[We] had a lot of critical plays in the game,” he said. “There were plenty of opportunities to change [momentum] after [the turnovers], but we didn’t make any of those plays.”

The loss guaranteed both a losing season for Detroit -- the third in Schwartz’s four seasons as coach -- and a last-place finish in the NFC North. With three games remaining in the regular season, and nothing to play for but pride, Schwartz was asked if he thought winning the team’s final three games could erase some of the sting caused by the team’s unfulfilled 2012 expectations.

“The only thing that we can work on is Arizona right now,” he said. “I’m not worried about the sting of the last three [losses] or anything else. We can go out and we can compete hard and we can play this game to win. That’s the only thing that we can do.”

Bell’s celebration penalty vs. Packers could cost him:  Less than a week after Lions’ coaches lauded the recent play of RB Joique Bell, the second-year player earned a rebuke from Schwartz on Monday after he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following TE Tony Scheffler’s second-quarter touchdown Sunday night. The penalty occurred when Bell joined in Scheffler’s “snow shovel” celebration, turning Scheffler’s legal one-man display into a multi-player event, which is against league rules.

Schwartz said that Bell’s actions were “not smart” -- an understatement that clearly showed his disdain for the young player’s conduct -- and said the lack of awareness on Bell’s part could limit his reps if it continues.

“I think maybe I’ll start to check some of my compliments for Joique Bell,” he said. “That’s a young player. … I said has done some really good things for us this year, and has done a good job on capitalizing on an opportunity. But it’s things like that, it’s a bad decision like [the penalty] that could potentially limit his opportunities. We certainly don’t want to see that happen.”

Follow Lions reporter John Kreger on Twitter at @CBSLions and @JohnKreger