The Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams are all lying in wait for the Detroit Lions.
While Detroit has to first get through the solid defense helmed by the New York Giants, it's these three games that could threaten to unseat the Lions' (still) best odds of winning the NFC North and clinching a postseason appearance. And, the biggest issue that the Lions face against these three squads is their offensive line being subpar compared to their unit from 2024.
The lack of pass protection up the gut from Graham Glasgow, Tate Ratledge, and Kayode Awosika in Week 11 was concerning, with the trio allowing a total of seven pressures on Jared Goff in Week 11. While the work from tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker is predictably sound, it's their iOL that continues to be a major concern for Lions fans - but not for head coach Dan Campbell.
Lions' troubling trend on the offensive line not a concern for coaching staff
Campbell told reporters on Monday that he trusts his options on the offensive line implicitly, reiterating that he feels it continues to be a work in progress to land them in a position to succeed against better defensive lines like that of the Philadelphia Eagles or Packers.
"I believe in these guys. I think the more they play together, the more they mesh and we just do things that we do well...every game is different. There's a couple things I wish, maybe I'd do differently...I just believe in these guys. They're good enough. They know how to play together, we just gotta be a little more consistent in areas, and it takes everybody. It really does."
Campbell is never going to throw his players under the bus for their performances, and that's the sign of an excellent leader. He will, most likely, keep those conversations in-house, especially since Detroit has to be hoping to get a lot more out of Glasgow and Ratledge than what they saw against the Eagles.
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Several pressures and batted passes were the key to knocking Goff off his game, and they played a direct role in allowing that to happen. While Ratledge has been stellar for a rookie, and Awosika deserves a few more games to draw any judgment on his ability to play at guard, Glasgow is the sore point in this conversation.
Being thrust into the center position to begin the year was always a shaky plan, but it's obviously not a long term solution for a Lions team looking to get the most out of this core led by Goff.
If the Lions want fans to believe that these are the best players Detroit has to offer up front, then those players need to begin posting far better results against actually decent D-lines in coming weeks.