For the first time since 2022, the Detroit Lions will not be playing playoff football. With the Lions' season on the line, they turned in arguably their worst offensive performance of the season in the 23-10 road loss at the hands of undrafted rookie Max Brosmer and an elite Minnesota Vikings' defense.
The Minnesota defense forced a staggering six Detroit turnovers, which is absolutely pathetic for a team who turned the ball over just eight times entering Thursday. Jared Goff threw two interceptions and fumbled three times, while the run game was nowhere to be found in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Fans were (rightfully) worried about offensive regression after Ben Johnson left for Chicago, and now those fears are coming to live. While the ex-Lions' OC has the Bears atop the NFC North, John Morton and Dan Campbell have the Lions' own offense looking like a shell of the dominant force we've seen.
The Lions need to hire an actual offensive coordinator this offseason
After Johnson departed, Morton was tabbed to replace him, but Campbell took over as the offensive play-caller in early November. And while that decision initially paid dividends, their over-reliance on the run game and the play-action game was something Brian Flores was easily able to neutralize.
Entering the week, Motown was home to the third-best offense in the NFL in terms of both total yards and passing yards per game, and Goff surpassed 4,000 passing yards once again. But he was held to just 197 passing yards against the Vikings since he wasn't able to use the run game as a crutch.
Both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs were kept under three yards per carry by the Vikings, and that's mainly on Campbell. The 49-year-old's dual-back system works perfectly most of the time, but when Flores' defense is disgusing coverages, it put a strain on both the pass and the run game.
Campbell isn't an offensive mastermind like Johnson was, and the drop-off has been noticeable in the offense's production. What the Lions did so well in the past was their offensive creativity with their ability to keep a defense on edge, but that aspect of the offense has been invisible in 2025.
While it's abundantly clear that Goff isn't the caliber of quarterback who can win you a Super Bowl, the sheer amount of talent around him should usually be able to counter-act those defects. But now that the offensive play-calling has been a disaster for the Lions, it's seen those flaws come back to light.
And if this persists, the Super Bowl window will be closed before we know it, so DC has to swallow his pride and find a new OC as soon as possible.