Lions' tough loss to Bills can provide perfect motivation before playoffs

The Detroit Lions had a chance to make a big statement against the Buffalo Bills, but instead they lost a shootout and saw their 11-game win streak come to an end.

For weeks, the Lions had lived on the edge in close games. Somehow, they had found a way to win in spite of injury issues. Finally, everything caught up to them in Week 15.

Buffalo had their way with a banged-up Detroit defense, moving the ball with little resistance. Defensively, they hung on in the second half against a game offense to eke out a 48-42 victory. The defeat represents a reality check for the Lions, but one that could come at a perfect moment.

Naturally, Dan Campbell blamed himself for the shortcomings of his team, but was quick to show with his words that he has a coaching point to rally around the rest of the season.

"I'm serious, it starts with me. I have to do a much better job of getting these guys ready to roll and be urgent about this type of opponent. No excuses. It just wasn't good enough, and that was the bottom line. Everybody's frustrated. Guys are frustrated. But that's part of life. You lose, and it's a bad taste in your mouth. Now what are we going to do about it? Are we going to sit there and feel sorry for ourselves or are we going to bounce back and go to Chicago?"

Many wondered if the Lions were peaking too early after rolling through their schedule with several consecutive wins. There will be no such worries now, as they will have to pick up the pieces after a frustrating loss. Now, the Lions don't have to worry about carrying an elongated win streak into the playoffs or the pressure that would follow.

The Lions will get the chance to finish the season strong in the NFC playoff race, and may have removed a massive media target from their back in the short-term that will help them fly under the radar more than they have recently.

Jared Goff looking forward to applying lessons learned from loss to Bills

In terms of the locker room, there is no lack of belief from players even after a tough loss. The Lions understand the defeat was difficult, but also a learning experience for the present and future. Goff was the first to echo that sentiment.

"We'll be just fine. I'm sure there will be a ton of stuff written about the sky falling, but no, internally, we're good. We had won I don't know how many in a row up to that point. It sucks to lose. We'd have loved to win every game out all the way to the Super Bowl. I hope we can look back on this one as a good learning lesson for us, move on and use some of the stuff we learned in this game to help us win the next three before we hit the playoffs."

The Lions can prove the loss was just a bump in the road with a strong Week 16 performance. Their goals are still in front of them, and while many may abandon the bandwagon, that could serve as perfect fuel for a postseason run.