The Detroit Lions may not be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention just yet, but things sure look headed that way.
Detroit’s 29-24 home loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers moved the team to 8-7 and firmly behind the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. They’re 1.5 games behind Green Bay and do not hold the tiebreaker after two losses to the Packers this year. The Lions’ first time suffering back to back losses since 2022 could not have come at a worse time.
“We’ve got some mental errors here or there, or a lack of self-discipline,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “And look, ultimately, I put that stuff on me, man. That’s on me. There’s no other way to cut it, other than it’s the head coach.”
Lions lost their way completely against Steelers
Two costly offensive pass interference penalties ultimately did Detroit in, but the more striking number was the difference in the run game. Pittsburgh rushed for 230 yards as a team, including a pair of 45-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter by Jaylen Warren. Detroit, on the other hand, rushed for a grand total of 15.
Getting manhandled up front like that is the exact thing Detroit has prided itself on not doing under Campbell. They’ve made their living on having one of the NFL’s most dominant offensive lines, its most talented running back duo and a tenacious front seven that makes you fight for every yard.
None of those three elements were there on Sunday. And rarely have they all shown up for the same game at any point this year. This loss is the latest low point of a season that has represented a shocking loss of identity for Campbell’s Lions.
“You run a play, you get the look [you want],” Campbell said. “You run the opposite of that and see how they respond, and then you get [another] look. And we just weren’t able to do it and they were. They got after us. I mean, they rushed for over 200 yards. And only 15 for us.”
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Even if by some miracle Detroit wins its final two games and gets some outside help to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh seed, this does not look like a team built to do damage in the postseason.
The defense has been nonexistent over the past month, continuing to allow scores in big moments. Jared Goff has mostly been humming lately, but poor protection and an inconsistent (or in this case, ineffective) running game have doomed the offense to one-dimensionality.
For a Lions team that has built a reputation on having many different ways to beat you, the fact that their last month feels like a rinse-and-repeat of the same game is incredibly frustrating.
Detroit was hit hard by brain drain this past year after losing its offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs. They will have to make some tough decisions about the fates of offensive coordinator John Morton and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard after the former got his play calling duties revoked midseason and the latter’s defense crumbled in November.
Until then, Campbell can only hope his team plays its brand of football in the last two games. Whatever that even is at this point.
“I want to see us play with our identity,” he said. “With what we are and what we’re about. We’re big boys in this league, man. You pull your pants up and you go to work. And you can’t feel sorry for yourself. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting, it doesn’t feel bad. But we have nobody to blame but ourselves. It’s on us, and it’s also on us to finish. We’ve got two to go.”