After the Detroit Lions' heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Rams, their path to the playoffs was simple. They needed to win out.
There were a slew of other scenarios where the Lions could have afforded a loss, but the likelihood of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers dropping the necessary games was low, so the Lions just needed to take care of their own business.
Except the Bears and Packers did lose those games. The problem was so did the Lions.
The Lions did need the Packers to defeat the Bears for slightly better playoff odds. This was because the Lions currently held a tiebreaker over the Bears thanks to their Week 2 victory over them. A win in Week 18 might have secured them a playoff berth while possibly knocking the Ben Johnson-led Bears out of the playoffs. While the Bears did win, the Lions' playoff odds didn't take a devastating hit. They just needed a little extra help than before.
In Week 17, the Packers would lose to the Tyler Huntley-led Baltimore Ravens. Huntley had also helped the Lions by defeating the Bears earlier in the season, becoming the Lions' unsung MVP on the season. The Bears, meanwhile, would lose in a thriller against the San Francisco 49ers that came down to the final second.
Had the Lions beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, they would have entered Week 18 in a winner-take-all game against the Bears for the NFC North. If they were to lose that game, they could've still made the playoffs with a Packers loss to the Vikings.
But the Lions lost both games, and they only have pride to play for in Week 18. If they have any pride left, that is.
Lions fell apart at the worst time
At halftime of the Lions' game against the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions led 24-17. Jared Goff was playing like a top quarterback, and the offense looked phenomenal, capable of winning a second-half shootout. But much like the Lions' win probability in that game, their playoff odds took a free fall from that point forward.
The return of the "turd quarter" quickly sank the Lions in a 34-24 hole entering the fourth quarter. They recovered a little bit in the fourth quarter, but a six-play, 68-yard, touchdown drive from the Rams had the Lions in need of a Christmas-season miracle that never came to pass.
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The Lions still had a chance at the playoffs, and with their streak of avoiding back-to-back losses dating back to 2022, they were poised to defeat Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. They didn't. The Lions' offensive line woes persisted as their run game was virtually non-existent, while the Steelers' run game was dominant to the tune of 230 yards. Multiple 45-yard fourth-quarter TDs from Jaylen Warren killed any attempts to build momentum. Despite it all, the Lions had numerous attempts for a game-winning TD, but penalties doomed the Lions, as per tradition.
A broken Lions offense celebrated Christmas Day by gifting the Vikings six turnovers. Five of those turnovers came from Goff, the other from the lately-quiet Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs. It was a game where the defense held Max Brosmer to 51 passing yards, or three yards after accounting for the 48 yards Brosmer lost on seven sacks. However, the offense literally gave the winnable game away.
Now, the Lions enter their first offseason since the 2022 season without a playoff appearance to hang their hat on. This team feels like the opposite of those 2022 Lions. The 2022 Lions surged in the second half and did what they had to down the stretch to make the playoffs, but didn't get the help they needed. This year's team was given every possible chance to seize a playoff berth, and fell flat on its face. They only have themselves to blame this time.