DeAndre Levy
This one is obvious. The Lions really missed this guy and it showed in every single game they played this year. It’s hard to blame Levy himself as injuries do happen and they are hard to dodge at times.
I will blame the staff however. Perhaps this is one glaring mistake that fans are missing now that the season is over. Everything about Levy’s injury was mishandled from the get go. First it was a hip injury. Then it was a parasite. Then it was back to the hip again. Either way the Lions staff did everything they could to make sure people didn’t find out what it truly was.
Then there’s the matter of short-term IR. Which the Lions chose to use on rookie Alex Carter, who never played a single down the entire season. The Lions could have used that spot on Levy and possibly got him back late in the season at closed to full health. Instead they threw him on the field against the Broncos and he re-injured himself and was put on regular old IR. Who knows how things could have gone in the other scenario. But it was worth trying and the Lions staff botched it.
Next: Offensive line