The Detroit Lions' offense has gone from one of the best groups in the NFL to inconsistent in very short order, and it has plenty to do with the injuries they are racking up.
Not only is the offensive line and tight end position suffering, but the receiver room is starting to have issues as well. During a tough 31-24 loss on Thanksgiving Day to the Green Bay Packers, the Lions lost Amon-Ra St. Brown to an ankle injury for an unknown amount of time.
Detroit's offensive issues were a big reason they weren't able to climb the mountain against the Green Bay Packers. While hopes of another NFC North title are likely out the window, the Lions can still compete for a playoff birth in the weeks ahead.
In order to do that, they're going to have to find other targets with names like St. Brown and Sam LaPorta sidelined. Fortunately, Isaac TeSlaa served notice again that he's ready to make plays and beef up the depth of the pass catching group for Jared Goff.
The Lions have no choice but to give Isaac TeSlaa the featured role he deserves
While TeSlaa only had two catches for 35 yards, one of those strikes was for a touchdown in the red zone, and the other was an impressive diving catch to help the offense move the chains. Both plays gave fans a taste of what the big-bodied wideout can do when he sees the field.
Point blank, there's no reason TeSlaa should only have only six receptions for 100 yards at this time of the season. Whenever he has been given a chance, he has excelled. The Lions sacrificed a third-round pick for TeSlaa and have essentially buried him in spite of his playmaking ability.
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His performance on Thanksgiving only further proved why the Lions need to roll the dice and see what they have moving forward.
Naturally, TeSlaa is a team player and isn't going to make waves demanding the ball as a rookie. He's been humble even in spite of his obvious talents and the fact that the franchise should be feeding him much more. His classy mindset after the loss to Green Bay was indicative of this approach.
"It's unfortunate whenever you lose a player at any position, especially a star like (Amon-Ra) St. Brown. It was an opportunity for me to step up. But, I would have loved to get a win and that's really what I'm focused on right now," TeSlaa said.
"It's great to make a catch or two, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many catches you get. If your team has less points than the other team, you're not too happy about it. (That's true) knowing what was on the line against a divisional opponent and how really fine the line is for the margin for error right now."
While TeSlaa might be diplomatic about his role with the offense, fans and analysts shouldn't be anymore. Now that injuries have piled up to pass catchers, there's nowhere for the Lions to hide TeSlaa. He needs to be a featured weapon.
By this point of a rookie year, a player is effectively not a rookie. It's time for the Lions to put more on TeSlaa's plate and see if they find an impact player. When St. Brown was a rookie in 2021, it was around this time of the season that Detroit turned him loose and discovered a star.
TeSlaa has the goods to be a fantastic player in the NFL, but that's only going to happen if the Lions trust him enough to get him the ball. He's shown them no reason to doubt his ability, especially under the bright lights on Thanksgiving Day.