Alarm bells are going off after a disastrous offensive line performance on Sunday

Coming off a bye week, there are three things you don't want to see: sloppy play, injuries, and a loss. All three came true in a dreadful 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings that saw the offensive line struggle to dominate and stay on the field.

Everything that could go wrong, did. Quarterback Jared Goff was pressured at his highest rate all season, and his well-documented play while under pressure reared its ugly head. Goff looked shaken out there and, aside from a cool escape act on a pass to running back David Montgomery, frequently missed targets with defenders in his face. Goff tends to perform well against the blitz, and Vikings' defensive coordinator Brian Flores loves to use it, but much of that is thanks to the high-level play from the OL. On Sunday, the OL and any extra blockers got run over by those blitzers.

Goff was also sacked a season-high five times, which is tied for the second-highest in his career. It was tied for the most times he's ever been sacked as a Lion, with the last time being sacked five times coming in the 2023 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. The Lions have never won a game when Goff has been sacked five or more times (0-4). The Lions were 3-15 in such games under former QB Matthew Stafford. Ironically, all three of those wins were against the Vikings.

That's not all on the offensive line. Offensive coordinator John Morton needs to call a better game, and Goff needs to do better at executing those plays. While Goff may get a little reprieve from box score watchers seeing his 284 passing yards, two touchdowns, and zero turnovers, the same cannot be said for the run game behind the OL.

Both Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery were as unpolished as "Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)" and as incomplete as "Sonic the Hedgehog 4." Gibbs and Montgomery combined for 78 total yards on 25 total touches with one TD. Both "Sonic" and "Knuckles" struggled to find good lanes to run, with the longest rush on the day being 11 yards, which also happened to be the Montgomery rush that resulted in a horrid fumble deep in Lions territory.

It wasn't just on offense that the OL had a negative impact. Late in the fourth quarter, a Jake Bates field goal attempt was blocked and returned by the Vikings 41 yards, setting the Vikings up for their own field goal and a big six-point swing.

Injuries decimate the offensive line

If the offensive line played badly, it would be easy to brush that off as a bad day. "Let's get 'em next week!" Sadly, that wasn't the case here as four out of the five OL starters spent time in either the blue medical tent or the locker room.

Star tackle and one of the favorites for the inaugural Protector of the Year award, Penei Sewell, had multiple stints on the sideline: one for an eye injury and the other for a shoulder injury. The latter saw Sewell spend a brief period of time in the locker room.

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Both T Taylor Decker (Knee) and guard Tate Ratledge (Shoulder) had to be helped off the field. They did return, but the same could not be said for second-year G Christian Mahogany. Mahogany had to be carted off the field for a knee injury and did not return. Head coach Dan Campbell was pessimistic about Mahogany's injury, saying in the postgame presser that Mahogany will be "out for a while." Don't be surprised to see at least Decker miss more time as well, given he's already having difficulties staying on the field this season.

Sunday was a nightmare for the Lions, and few players across all three phases of the game can say they played well. However, this is a game that laid plain a simple fact: the Lions will go as far as their offensive line will take them. Given recent performances and injuries, it may not be nearly as far as Lions' fans had hoped for entering this season. The trade deadline is approaching on November 4th, and there are nine more games to go. Anything can happen, but if Sunday is a precursor of what's to come, you'd be forgiven for smashing the panic button right now.