In Week 15 of last season, the Detroit Lions lost a high-scoring game, 48-42 to the Buffalo Bills. But that was just their second loss of the season on their way to finishing 15-2 and earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams of course marked Week 15 of this season. The Lions were part of another high-scoring game against a quality team and again they lost, 41-34 this time around.
Of course there are some big differences between this season and last season for the Lions. Sunday's loss was their sixth of the season, and their playoff chances are on the ropes with three games left in the regular season.
As Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit laid out, the Lions probably need to win out and get a good dose of help if they're going to make the playoffs. So "never say never", but a week from now we may be saying "never."
Dan Campbell offers frank assessment of where the Lions are right now
While he has taken to using the phrase "we're good" when it comes to the absence of injured players lately, Lions head coach Dan Campbell generally does not mince words or offer cliches. Sunday's game against one of the best teams in the NFL was going to, win or lose, serve as a barometer for where his team is.
After the loss Campbell talked about how he and the coaching staff will watch the tape, assess everthing, "make those corrections and then move on."
After talking about "getting back to work" with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to Ford Field in Week 16. If the current pattern holds, the Lions will beat the Steelers in Week 16 and keep their playoff odds somewhat afloat for at least another week.
Campbell then offered a honest and sobering assessment of his team.
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"And now we know...you know, now you have first-hand knowledge of what..probably the top of the NFC looks like right now. That's them (the Rams)...So now you know, you know what it looks like, you know what it is, and we're not there right now."
A year ago, the Lions were still "there" as the best team in the NFC after a tough Week 15 loss. Now they are unable to consistently sustain much of anything week-to-week, and finding answers has been elusive as they now cling to receding playoff chances.
What a diferrence a year makes.