When 49ers tight end George Kittle fell on Michael Badgley's onsides kick attempt, the Lions' season had all but officially ended. What was arguably the most compelling storyline across the NFL playoffs this season wrapped up short of a berth in Super Bowl LVIII, and not without controversy – game-management is going to be a big topic of conversation among Lions media and fans this week. But they call football the ultimate team game for a reason, so here are three Lions performances that were at the center of their season-ending 34-31 loss.
1. HC Dan Campbell
Campbell's decision to leave his kicker – and ultimately, six points – on the sideline, in a game they lost by three, obviously looks bad. Campbell's been notoriously aggressive on 4th down all year, but it's even harder to ignore the optics of this Lions' loss because of how large the stage that it happened on is. Running the ball, and having to waste a timeout with less than a minute left, was another decision that is arguably worse than anything he did on 4th down. While he was plenty accountable in his postgame press conference, he defended his decision-making, and maybe rightfully so. Hindsight is 20/20, and the players are the ones executing the plays, but Campbell had a rough day on Sunday.
2. WR Josh Reynolds
Reynolds' drop on 4th-and-2 was the third-most impactful play of the Lions' day in terms of EPA. His other drop, this one on 3rd-and-10 in a tie game, was almost as brutal. Even outside of the drops, it was an underwhelming day for Reynolds: he only had one reception for 25 yards on four targets. After his seven catch, 80-yard performance in the Lions' Wild Card win over the Rams, the receiver had a quiet two weeks, only catching three balls for 52 yards and one touchdown over the last two games combined.
3. RB Jahmyr Gibbs
If we're going to blame a wide receiver for drops, it seems only fair to blame a running back for fumbles. Gibbs' fumble, by EPA, was the worst play of the game for the Lions – more than any drop by Reynolds or failed 4th down conversion. Like Reynolds, he also had a quite game otherwise – he ended the day with 45 yards on 12 rushes with one touchdown. When you blow a 17-point halftime lead, just about everything that can go wrong has to, and fumbling the ball – for only the third time all year – on your own 25 is a great example of that.