The Detroit Lions’ defense was exceptional Sunday night, limiting the Philadelphia Eagles to their lowest point total all season and shutting down the infamous “tush push.” However, the 16-9 loss exposed ongoing issues that led to the Lions’ worst offensive performance in the Dan Campbell era.
Detroit Lions Aren’t Worried About Making The Playoffs
Detroit has a solid opportunity to shake up the division and make the playoffs. Winning the NFC North is not out of reach, but first, there are performance issues that must be corrected.
A Playoff Berth is Within Reach for Lions, But Corrections Must Be Made
There are still seven games left in the regular season, including division games against the Chicago Bears , Minnesota Vikings , and Green Bay Packers. The Lions have a half-game lead over the Bears. The Vikings hold the same advantage over Detroit. Despite a strong start, recently the Packers have struggled with injuries and the loss of tight end Tucker Kraft. A great deal can happen in the seven remaining games that could put the division title up for grabs.
Lions Responding to Adversity
However, Campbell isn’t worrying about the playoffs. Instead, he is focusing on winning the game against the New York Giants . Detroit is a team that performs best with its back against the wall. Campbell’s job is to rally the troops, correct the problems, and move forward. His team has not lost two consecutive games since 2022. Campbell believes the key to overcoming adversity is how you handle it. “Focus on what we need to correct and what cost us the game…There’s a reason why everything happened the way it happened. Let’s make the corrections, let’s go back to work this week, and let’s get better. And let’s play better football next week.”
In each of the previous losses, the team has come back stronger the following week with a resounding win. After losing to the Packers in Week 1, Detroit roared back, scoring 52 points against Chicago . After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs , the Lions rebounded with a superb defensive effort that shut down Tampa Bay in Week 7 and limited the Buccaneers’ offense to only nine points. A loss to the Vikings in Week 9 motivated the team to post 44 points against the Washington Commanders.
Lions’ Ongoing Offensive Line Issues
A struggling offensive line is an ongoing theme this season. When the offensive line performs well, Jared Goff has time to execute and make precision throws. The offense develops a steady rhythm that opposing defenses can’t contain or disrupt. However, when the line falters, the offense sputters. In Week 1, the Lions’ run game stalled against the Packers, with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery limited to a combined 30 carries for 75 yards. The Lions’ ground game was similarly shut down in Week 9 against the Vikings . Minnesota’s stout defense held the duo to 65 yards.
Although the loss to the Packers in Week 1 was blamed on miscommunication and missed assignments, the problems disappeared once Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany got into a flow alongside Graham Glasgow . But injuries to Taylor Decker (ongoing shoulder issues) and Mahogany (a broken leg) forced a shift in the lineup. Practice squad players Trystan Colon and Kingsley Equakun were elevated to fill the gap. Now, once again, o-line problems are wreaking havoc with the offensive scheme.
Wooing Frank Ragnow out of retirement for the remainder of the season isn’t an option. But Campbell believes the offensive line issues are fixable, “I believe in these guys, man. I do. I just think the more they play together and they mesh, and we just do things that we do well, and look, every game’s different. Every game’s different. There are a couple of things…and just the way that we go about attacking those guys. Just a little bit that I think maybe can help our guys, too.… Several different ways, ‘Well, we can do this, we can do this, we can try this.’ So, I just go back to – man, I just believe in these guys. I think that they’re good enough, they know how to play together, we’ve just got to be a little more consistent in areas.”
A Tale of Two Lions Quarterbacks
Goff executes throws with a precision and artistry that’s among the best in the NFL. Frequently topping the league in quarterback passer ratings, he ranks second with 21 touchdown passes. Goff and the Lions usually outscore all other NFL teams. Even in a losing effort against the Chiefs, he completed 23 of 29 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 118.8 rating.
But when facing enormous pressure as he did against Philly, Goff was up against a brick wall. The dual threat of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis maintained a steady barrage of pressure that forced deflected or overthrown passes. A total of five passes were batted down. Jaelan Phillips recorded his first sack as an Eagle. Goff completed only 14/37 passes for 255 yards with one touchdown. An early interception was the result of a tipped ball by Davis and recovered by Cooper DeJean.
Whenever Goff finds himself in a situation where he must get a completion, he goes to Amon-Ra St. Brown. But on Sunday night, his normally reliable connection with St. Brown was nowhere in evidence. The Sun God caught only two of Goff’s 12 throws. “I think for us, as an offense, the word that sticks out to me is ‘flawed.’ I feel like we haven’t been in a flow all year,” the All-Pro receiver revealed.
Correcting Lions’ Issues and Mistakes
Campbell acknowledged the Philadelphia defense did a good job interpreting Goff’s eye focus and hand movements. He admitted they weren’t prepared for it as well as they should have been, but emphasized, these are correctable issues. “And so, you just do a couple of little things differently, O-line-wise. It’s not easy, but at some point, when you feel like you’ve got them locked down and they’re not moving anymore, and they stop trying to keep their feet on the ground. And then Goff, which is not easy either, but just changing your arm angle on a couple of things, knowing they’re just staring at you. So, it’s all correctable. I’m not worried about it moving forward, but I certainly could have made a better emphasis on it last week.”
Nonetheless, Goff isn’t the problem, and he will make the necessary adjustments to regain his ability to deliver an elite performance.
What Eagles Game Exposed About Lions
While Campbell did an outstanding job of play-calling against the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia game represented a vindication of John Morton, proving that even when Campbell is holding the clipboard, mistakes can be made. His aggressive play calls on third and fourth down plays did not pay off. Campbell made some of the same poor choices (repeatedly running Gibbs straight up the middle into a pile of defenders) that Morton has been accused of in the past.
But even with the poor offensive performance, the Lions’ outstanding defense kept us in the game. Late in the 4th quarter, when the defense got the ball back, Jake Bates delivered a stunning 54-yard field goal despite the swirling winds. Another touchdown would have tied the score had it not been for an egregiously bad penalty call on Rock Ya-Sin. Earlier in the game, an exuberant Jameson Williams celebrated his 40-yard touchdown by humping the goalpost. His harmlessly joyful act elicited a 15-yard penalty. But that additional distance forced Bates to kick the extra point from 49 yards out, and he missed.
Those two critical penalty calls could have been the difference in the game. But the Lions can’t control how the refs call plays and sanction athletes.
Focusing on Moving Forward –New York Giants Up Next
For now, the Philadelphia loss is history. Set it aside, get back to work, learn from the mistakes, fix the issues, and move forward. After the game, Goff said, “It sucks. It stings. You want to come out here and play well and beat a really good team and be able to have a kind of hallmark win in the middle of the season, but we didn’t get it done. Got to move on and find a way to win next week.” A decisive win against the Giants will help the team regain that momentum.
Main Image: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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