The Detroit Lions lost again on Thanksgiving, with coaching taking the spotlight in the final minutes.
The annual Thanksgiving day game for the Detroit Lions has now come and gone.
Unfortunately, there were no Thanksgiving miracles this year, as the Lions lost yet again.
The same script has been followed three weeks in a row now. Keep the game close, have opportunities to win, but ultimately the Lions can’t get the job done.
Self-inflicted wounds have been a trend all season, especially recently. There have been way too many costly mistakes that could have been avoided, both by players and the coaching staff.
Detroit Lions Week 12 Report Card
Offense- 2/5 Stars
What a weird game for the offense. They started out on fire, with a nice drive finished huge touchdown pass on the opening drive.
Then, like they have many times this season, the offense dried up. Stalled out again, and again.
There was another brief glimmer of hope, with another touchdown drive in the second half. Then the offense shut down for good.
However, the biggest reason for concern was D’Andre Swift leaving the game with a shoulder strain.
His status for next week is currently unknown, but this has the potential to be an enormous blow to an already fragile offense.
This would however present an enormous opportunity for Jamaal Williams.
Best offensive player: WR Josh Reynolds
It took one drive with Jared Goff at quarterback for Reynolds to claim the WR1 spot on this team.
First drive, first to score!
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 25, 2021
39-yard dime from @JaredGoff16 to @J_Rey_11#CHIvsDET | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/pEhozRvmJb
While he was pretty quiet the rest of the game, he still led the team in receiving yards by a decent margin. He’s clearly the only receiver Goff is willing to target downfield.
If Reynolds is nothing else but someone who can at least threaten a defense on a deep target, that will be enough value for what the Lions are paying him.
Worst offensive player(s): Offensive line
In the time it took you to read this sentence, the offensive line probably took another holding penalty.
Jonah Jackson is the lone starting Lions offensive lineman without a holding call to his name today through the first half
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) November 25, 2021
Penei Sewell -- check
Taylor Decker -- check
Evan Brown -- check
Tommy Kraemer -- check
An obscene amount of holding penalties plagued the Lions, derailing drives instantly. This offense struggles without being put behind the chains, and the run of holding calls could not be overcome.
It’s not like the line was terrible at blocking in a general sense, but these preventable mistakes really hurt Detroit.