Detroit Lions: At least the Green Bay Packers are done

The Detroit Lions‘ frustrating season continued after a 30-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but there is one thing that should make fans happy.

Rooting for the Detroit Lions is a punishing way to live your life as a football fan, and the 2018 season proved no different. While I do not have a degree in psychology, thanks to the Lions, I acquired a doctorate in Pain Management a couple of decades ago.

It’s therapy time, Lions fans, and the best part about my Sunday had nothing to do with this team. There are not many positives to take away from the Lions’ latest loss, a 30-16 drubbing to the Los Angeles Rams.

The defense put up an admirable fight to keep the game close, but only to let Todd Gurley feast in the most crucial moments. The offense was the same miserable drab that it has been for most of the season.

It took 13 weeks for Jim Bob Cooter to consider calling some non-traditional plays, just in time for the team to be completely out of playoff contention. But hey, the touchdown pass to eligible receiver/left tackle Taylor Decker was pretty cool. Even the harshest Cooter critics have to concede that.

That’s about where it ends for the Lions. Perhaps the rest of the season will bring some inspiring performances and give us all something to look forward to next year. But now?

The Green Bay Packers lost again, and it feels so good. Mason Crosby‘s horrible missed field goal attempt at the end of regulation robbed Aaron Rodgers of yet another comeback and desecrated the remains of the Packers’ slim playoff hopes. It’s petty, I know, but it’s all I got.

I find comfort that Matthew Stafford is not the only quarterback in the league whose best years are wasting away. One could certainly argue that the Packers’ future is bleak compared to that of the Lions.

The Packers’ franchise has simply taken Rodgers for granted all these years. Every season, his elite talent masks the many deficiencies that they refuse to address, and it has finally caught up to them. Rodgers will turn 36 next season, and will likely have an entirely new coaching staff.

The Lions at least have reasons to expect improvement after this season. Matt Patricia’s rookie year as a head coach was bound to include a series of ups and downs. While many of us did not expect this many “downs,” it’s important to remember this season was just the beginning.

The defense improved through the course of the season, and new additions in the off-season will allow Bob Quinn and Patricia to fill more holes. It is a near certainty that the Lions will fire Cooter after the season is over and install a new offensive scheme that may actually produce points. Stafford is still in his prime and the offense is loaded with talent.

While the Detroit Lions are in the midst of building up, the Green Bay Packers are about to tear it all down. Let’s all enjoy it while we can.