Lions News

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Detroit Lions grades vs. Bears: Both lines disappoint in rough showing across the board


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



CHICAGO – Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Quarterback

Jared Goff said he was to blame for the fumbled quarterback-center exchange late in the third quarter that led to a Bears touchdown and extinguished any hopes of a Lions comeback. Center Graham Glasgow might have shared in fault on the play, but Goff finished with a season-low 161 yards on a tough passing day in cold and blustery conditions. He did make a couple tight-window throws for first downs, including one on a third-and-2 pass to Sam LaPorta, but he never found a rhythm with the offense constantly behind the chains. Goff threw two interceptions Sunday, giving him five in two games against the Bears this season, but both came on fourth downs in nothing-to-lose situations. Goff was lucky to avoid a third interception when Jaquan Brisker mistimed his jump and ended up with only a pass deflection on a careless throw over the middle. Grade: D-plus


Running backs

Jahmyr Gibbs had the longest run of the game, a 36-yarder late in the first quarter, but he also had a costly drop on the same drive when he had enough blocking in front of him to score a touchdown and a fumble that bounced out of bounds in the first half. Gibbs finished with 66 yards rushing on 11 carries and made a great individual effort to pick up a first down on a third-and-4 play late in the first half when he shook Tremaine Edmunds in the open field, then spun away from a second tackler. David Montgomery added 10 carries for 66 yards, though he did most of his damage with the Lions in catch-up mode late. Montgomery did convert a third-and-10 screen pass, with a heady cutback across the field for a first down. Grade: C-minus


Receivers/tight ends

Amon-Ra St. Brown had an uncharacteristically rough day, catching just three of nine passes thrown his way for 21 yards. He had an especially frustrating series in the fourth quarter when he dropped one pass and couldn’t secure two others, including a fourth-and-17 throw that was low but bounced off his chest as he slid to the ground. Josh Reynolds ran a nice route on his touchdown, beating Tyrique Stevenson inside with the single-high safety help shaded to the opposite side of the field, and Donovan Peoples-Jones made his first catch as a Lion on a crossing route to convert a fourth-and-3. Jameson Williams didn’t have a catch and appeared to turn the wrong way on his only target of the game, a deep ball early in the second half. Grade: D-plus


Offensive line

Dan Campbell said he thought his offensive line was good in pass protection, but Goff was sacked four times (with three of the sacks coming late in the fourth quarter) and the line committed four penalties. In addition to having a hand in the fumble, Glasgow, starting at center in place of the injured Frank Ragnow, was flagged for tripping on the game’s opening drive. Yannick Ngakoue used a stiff arm to beat Taylor Decker for a drive-stalling sack two plays later. Gibbs’ long run came behind a creative formation, the Lions moved Penei Sewell to left tackle and played Decker next to him on an unbalanced line. Decker, Jonah Jackson and Kayode Awosika all had nice second-level blocks on the play. Jackson, Awosika and Sewell also had false starts. Grade: D



Defensive line

Aidan Hutchinson made two costly plays that gave the Bears 12 points late in the game. Hutchinson jumped across the line of scrimmage with Chicago trying to draw the Lions offsides on a fourth-and-13 late in the third quarter. Justin Fields took advantage of the free play and threw a 38-yard touchdown to D.J. Moore. Hutchinson ran an ill-advised stunt on Chicago’s next series, and when Levi Onwuzurike couldn’t get to the edge it left Fields open to scramble for a touchdown on third-and-11. Hutchinson did have a coverage sack in the second quarter, when he stayed active against two blockers to yank Fields to the ground, and another pressure that forced a punt.

John Cominsky had his best game of the season with seven tackles and a sack, and Romeo and Julian Okwara both had pressures to force incompletions. The Lions held Fields to 58 yards rushing on 12 carries, the first time they’ve kept him under 100 yards since 2021. They weren’t great against Fields early; Benito Jones let Field slip through his grasp in the backfield on a third-and-13 run and Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone couldn’t bring him down on a 19-yard gain. But the group mostly bottled up Fields over the final three quarters. Grade: D


Linebackers

Anzalone also missed a tackle on the second play of the game on a check down to D’Onta Foreman and was flagged for a late hit penalty later in the first quarter. He and Jack Campbell tied for the team-lead with nine tackles, and Campbell played another strong overall game. Jalen-Reeves Maybin had a drive-stalling sack late in the first quarter off a zone blitz that confused Chicago’s offensive line and a pass deflection on a throw over the middle in the third quarter, and Derrick Barnes (six tackles) had one quarterback hit playing primarily as an edge defender to thwart Fields. Barnes did crash too hard on one zone read play when Fields got outside for an 11-yard gain. Grade: C-plus


Defensive backs

Hutchinson’s penalty on the Bears’ go-ahead touchdown was a big one, but Jerry Jacobs also got beat cleanly on the play and had no safety help over top with Kerby Joseph on the far side of the field and Ifeatu Melifonwu keying on an underneath route by Cole Kmet. Melifonwu started at safety in place of Tracy Walker and had four tackles, including a stop on a fourth-and-1 tush-push toss play when he stayed home to stuff Darnell Mooney. Jacobs, who split No. 2 cornerback snaps with Kindle Vildor, got his fingertips on a pass just before halftime with the Bears trying to get in field goal range but also was called for a pass interference penalty. Joseph has a pass breakup in the end zone but was lucky not to get beat for a touchdown when Kmet got behind him on a play but Fields didn’t see the open receiver downfield. Grade: C-minus


Special teams

It was a mixed day on special teams for the Lions as Riley Patterson missed an extra point after a poor snap by Jake McQuaide and Jack Fox was forced to make one tackle in punt coverage after Craig Reynolds appeared to lose outside contain on Velus Jones. Khalil Dorsey did make a nice open-field tackle on Fox’s first punt, and Romeo Okwara hopped through the line to block an extra point that Benito Jones returned into Bears territory. Patterson did not attempt a field goal. Grade: C


Coaching

Dan Campbell said he might need to “push it a little bit more (and) be a little more irritable” after the Lions had another sloppy performance. I tend to put the types of mistakes the Lions had Sunday on players more than coaches, but something hasn’t been right about this team since the bye. The Lions have 10 turnovers in their past four games and are lucky not to have more, and the defense seems to be suffering from a case of players trying to do too much.

Aaron Glenn’s defense did a better job containing Fields apart from a couple of early hiccups and Hutchinson’s YOLO pass rush at the end, and the moves he made with personnel seemed to have a generally positive impact. On offense, Ben Johnson had his usual creative wrinkles. He gave LaPorta a carry on a fullback dive and shifted personnel on the line as a piece of eye candy the Bears bit on. But the Lions continue to struggle in the third quarter and they lost to an improving but inferior team. Campbell lost his only challenge of the game, too, but it was a worthwhile attempt when Kmet made a juggling catch for a first down. Grade: D



Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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NFC North recap: Detroit Lions' division lead down to 2 games after Week 14


Jared Ramsey
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions' convincing 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears adds intrigue to the race for the NFC North title heading into the final four weeks of the regular season.

The Lions entered Sunday at 9-3 with a three-game lead in the division over the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, who were both 6-6. The Lions couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot or generate any positive momentum in the second half in the loss to Chicago to fall to 9-4, tightened the division race.



The Lions have held first place in the division since Week 4, when they beat the Packers on the road. Now, the Lions can see the other NFC North foes in the rearview mirror rapidly approaching. Detroit will have to shake the bad play and finish the season strong to ensure its first division title since 1993.


The Lions are 2-2 against NFC North opponents, splitting both series with the Packers and Bears. Detroit plays the Vikings twice in the final three weeks to close division play. The Lions will have to win at least two of its final four games to secure at least a share of the division title if Minnesota and/or Green Bay win out.




The Lions finish the season hosting the Denver Broncos on Saturday night, that at Vikings on Christmas Eve Day, at the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 30 and then hosts Minnesota in the season finale.

Those matchups with Minnesota are gaining importance because of the Lions' recent stumbles and the Vikings ability to win close games with backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs. The Vikings beat the Las Vegas Raiders, 3-0, on Sunday to move to 7-6, just two games behind the Lions in the standings. Minnesota's remaining schedule consists of at the Cincinnati Bengals, home against the Lions, home against the Packers and finish with a trip to Ford Field.



The Packers could reach 7-6 as well with a win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Green Bay has won three straight, including a win over the Lions on Thanksgiving. After Monday, the Packers are at home against the Buccaneers, on the road against the Panthers, on the road against the Vikings and finish the season at home against the Bears.

Chicago still occupies the basement of the NFC North despite finding a rhythm in recent weeks. The win over the Lions moved Chicago to 5-8 overall, four games out of first place. The Bears finish the season at the Cleveland Browns, home against the Arizona Cardinals, home against the Atlanta Falcons and at the Packers.

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Jared Goff, Lions struggle in loss to Bears; what went wrong for Detroit’s offense



By The Athletic Staff
6h ago



By Kevin Fishbain, Adam Jahns and Colton Pouncy

The Chicago Bears are now winners of three of their last four games after defeating the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions 28-13 on Sunday. Bears quarterback Justin Fields finished 19-of-33 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown as well as an 18-yard rushing score. Chicago receiver D.J. Moore also had a huge performance, hauling in six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown as well as a 16-yard touchdown on the ground.

But the story of the day was the Bears’ defense. Detroit quarterback Jared Goff struggled mightily, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble on a poor snap. He was 20-of-35 passing for 161 yards, one touchdown and those turnovers. Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown only had three catches for 21 yards.

The Bears improved to 5-8 on the season while the Lions dropped to 9-4.



How the Bears scored the upset

Matt Eberflus got his signature win as Bears coach. His team won consecutive games for the first time in his two years and also beat the Lions for the time. His defense dominated. There was no letdown from his group. There was no amazing comeback for the Lions in their second matchup. Instead, defensive end Montez Sweat, defensive tackle Justin Jones, linebacker T.J. Edwards and others shut down Detroit for the entire second half.

The Lions’ 13 points scored were their second lowest point total of the season. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds made interceptions and Edwards recovered a fumble. Safety Jaquan Brisker finished with 17 combined tackles and the Bears sacked Goff four times. — Adam Jahns, Bears beat writer


Moore continues to shine

Moore had the 16-yard touchdown run to open the game, but he had no other targets in the first half. It was a different story after halftime, as Moore had six catches for 68 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown on fourth down and a crucial third-down catch later in the game. The impact he’s had on Fields and the offense is immense, and he proved to be the gotta-have-it playmaker on Sunday — as he has all season — that the Bears have lacked in recent years. —Kevin Fishbain, Bears beat writer


Fields impresses

Caleb Williams? Drake Maye? How about keeping Justin Fields? The Bears quarterback ran for 58 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Fields also was 19-for-33 passing for 223 yards and one touchdown for a 88.3 passer rating. It wasn’t a perfect game for him but he was definitely the best player in it.

The Bears don’t dominate the NFC-North leading Lions without him. They have a major decision to make after the season since they’ll likely have the first pick in the NFL Draft courtesy of the Carolina Panthers. But if Fields plays like he did Sunday, then the best course of action could be keeping him and building around him. — Jahns


What went wrong for Detroit

That was a disaster of a game for the Lions. Their high-powered offense fell flat against the Bears, turning it over three times and twice more on downs. There was no offensive flow or rhythm, as the Lions didn’t score a point in the second half and totaled just 13 for the game. A reeling and shorthanded defense struggled to overcome turnovers and couldn’t always get off the field when it needed to. But if this is what we can come to expect from Detroit’s offense, the Lions are in trouble.

The Lions are not playing their best football in December. That much is clear at the moment. They’ve lost two out of three, and it would’ve been three out of four if not for a miraculous comeback against these same Bears last month. They weren’t as lucky this afternoon. This effort is not good enough. Not for the playoffs, and not for the regular season either, apparently. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer

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The Lions are regressing, and running out of time to turn things around


By Colton Pouncy
1h ago



CHICAGO — December is here. You can tell by the crisp, winter air that no-so-gently greets you whenever you open the door. It’s a sign that another NFL season is winding down, and the real games will soon begin.

Dan Campbell knows December is here. He’s seen plenty of football around this time of year. A few weeks ago, he discussed how every team is different during the stretch run. Some rise and others fall when it inevitably arrives. His desired goal was getting the Detroit Lions to play their best football when the calendar turned, hoping it would carry over and make for a memorable postseason run. But after a 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday — Detroit’s second defeat in three games — Campbell’s Lions are trending in the wrong direction.



“If we had won that game, I would have told you we played good ball,” Campbell said afterward, when asked about his team’s current stretch. “Since we lost that game by two scores, obviously it’s not good.”



Clearly frustrated after a game in which he called out players for their lack of discipline, Campbell said he’ll need to be a little bit more “irritable” in practice with them. The even-keeled Campbell doesn’t often stray away from his typical demeanor. But even he feels like a change in his own approach is needed. That’s not a conclusion you reach after one game.

The Lions (9-4) have lost two of their last three games, but it easily could be three of four or four of five. That they haven’t lost four of five is a testament to their ability to win without their best stuff. Not every week, but on occasion. The problem is, we haven’t seen the Lions’ best stuff in quite some time.



“There’s not going to be anything easy,” Campbell said. “I never assume we’re going to go into these games (saying), ‘Yeah, we’re going to win and we’re going to win by 30.’ That’s not the league. The point is we got to win these games. Just win, baby. Just win. We didn’t do enough to win today.”

Even wins can reveal hard truths, and the current truth of the matter is that these Lions are regressing. This team is almost unrecognizable from the group we saw earlier in the season. The eye test, the numbers, they all point to a team that has gotten away from what worked, and must now rediscover on the fly — a month before the playoffs begin.



Where is the defense that appeared to have turned a corner? It’s been a tale of two halves 14 weeks into the season. From Weeks 1-6, the Lions’ defense ranked fifth in yards per play (4.7), seventh in yards per game (285.8) and 10th in points per drive (1.63), Since then, they’re 22nd in yards per game (355.7), 28th in yards per play at 5.8 and 31st in points per drive (2.47). Injuries certainly haven’t helped an already-thin defense, and it’s hard to put the blame entirely on the defense when the offense has struggled just as much, but this sort of sustained effort isn’t good enough.

“I feel like we’ve kind of lost our swagger and our confidence,” Lions defensive lineman John Cominsky said. “When we played with that swagger and that confidence, guys are loose. I think that’s when we were playing our best ball. So, it’s got to be a point of emphasis to have that discipline this week. But also get that swagger and that confidence back and, you know, proceed as if success is inevitable.”


Where is the Lions team that rarely beat itself? Is it still catching up on rest after the bye? Because it certainly hasn’t shown up since then. From Weeks 1-6, the Lions were tied for the seventh-fewest turnovers in the league with six in six games. From Weeks 7-14, a seven-game span, they’re tied for the third-most turnovers in the league with 14. Ten of those 14 turnovers have come against NFC North competition the past four weeks. The Lions turned it over four times against the Bears last month — a narrow 31-26 game Lions players said they should’ve lost. A week later, they did lose, to the Green Bay Packers, after turning it over three more times. And again Sunday, the Lions turned it over three more times — and twice on downs.



The most notable example came on a fourth-and-13. The play before, officials ruled Justin Fields had made an incomplete pass on a play that appeared to be textbook intentional grounding, but the latter wasn’t called.

So, on fourth-and-13, and with everyone in the stadium knowing the Bears (5-8) were trying to get the Lions’ defense to jump offsides, the Lions still jumped offsides. Campbell said the Lions preached discipline. And yet, a costly mistake by Aidan Hutchinson resulted in a touchdown for the Bears. Jerry Jacobs was beat badly in coverage, perhaps expecting a delay of game. Just an all-around poor effort. The Bears certainly weren’t expecting it.



“Most teams are knowing that’s going to come,” Fields said.

“I thought no way in hell are they jumping,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet told reporters after the game. “They jumped. I don’t know how you could jump in that situation, but they did.”


Where is the quarterback, Jared Goff, who looked so comfortable, poised and in command of this offense? From Weeks 1-6, Goff’s passer rating of 105.1 ranked third in the NFL. He had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 3.7 — throwing 11 touchdowns to three interceptions — good for fourth in the league. And his EPA per dropback of 0.17 was fifth. He was in the MVP discussion for a brief time, thanks to his early-season success.

Since then, Goff has thrown 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, the latter tied for the second-most during that span. His passer rating of 86.9 ranks 20th among qualified quarterbacks, and so does his EPA per dropback of minus-0.03. He’s also tied for the most turnovers in the NFL since Week 7.



But it’s not just him. An offensive line that has been tabbed as one of the league’s best on paper hasn’t played like it on the field. A rotating cast is partly responsible, down All-Pro Frank Ragnow on Sunday, but the group has failed to protect Goff of late. On Sunday, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta caught a combined five passes for 44 yards on 15 targets, with St. Brown dropping multiple passes. The Lions didn’t score a point in the final two quarters, and their second-half drive summary went like this: punt, punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, interception.

Does any of this sound like a team peaking at the right time?


So now, with just four games left, the Lions have an identity crisis. They say they have the answers, but they’re still failing tests. Which Lions team should we expect on a weekly basis? The one that started 5-1, or the one that’s 4-3 since then?

The answer, as it so often does, probably lies somewhere in the middle. But Detroit is running out of time for corrections. The Lions host the Denver Broncos at Ford Field Saturday night, then hit the road for games against Minnesota and Dallas, before returning home for a Week 18 finale against the Vikings.



“Look, I know that everybody’s trying to grasp straws, what are we, what is this,” Campbell said. “I know exactly what we are. We’re a team that will fight. We got to do things right because any little mistake, man, it throws us off now. That’s just the type of team we are.



“But we got plenty here. We got plenty. We do things right, we’re pretty damn good. We’ll get it cleaned up, man. We’ll move on.”

They have no other choice. January is almost here.


Colton Pouncy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Lions. He previously covered Michigan State football and basketball for the company, and covered sports for The Tennessean in Nashville prior to joining The Athletic. Follow Colton on Twitter @colton_pouncy

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Wojo: Sloppy Lions veering toward a dangerous, slippery slope


Bob Wojnowski
The Detroit News



Chicago — This was sloppy, horribly sloppy, and it’s fair to say the Lions are on a sloppy slope. The question is, will it become a slippery slope?

The Lions haven’t played crisply for a while now, but have been able to cover their blemishes. They couldn’t cover much of anything Sunday. It’s a good thing they’ve built a hefty cushion in the NFC playoff picture, because they tossed a piece of it into Lake Michigan.



The Bears picked apart the Lions 28-13 at Soldier Field, almost like they picked them apart four weeks ago. The Lions rallied to win then but not now, and as the key juncture of the season approaches, they aren’t playing their best football. Their 9-4 record suggests it’s a blip, and they still hold a two-game lead over the Vikings (7-6) in the NFC North. But examine recent performances closely, and you see those darn slopes.

Jared Goff was rocked and rattled in this one, throwing two interceptions, losing a fumble on a faulty center exchange, and getting sacked four times. The Lions’ offense disappeared in the third quarter, as it frequently has, and never reappeared. Penalties were a major problem, including several pre-snap gaffes. The Lions were penalized eight times for 59 yards; the Bears four times for 35.



Dan Campbell hammered the lack of discipline, while admitting it was a bit of a puzzle. It cropped up everywhere, like when Aidan Hutchinson took an inside path to quarterback Justin Fields, who easily zipped around the outside for an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Bears a 25-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

Oh, there were more, and I’ll save Campbell the pain of listing them himself. There were three false starts on offense and a 15-yard tripping penalty on center Graham Glasgow. There were a couple missed tackles by Alex Anzalone, as well as a personal foul penalty.



Back to Earth

I think the Lions inflated expectations early in the season with four straight 14-point victories. Their talent margins aren’t nearly that substantial, and it’s starting to show. In the past seven weeks, they’ve won several squeakers. It was notable back on Nov. 19 when the Bears rolled to a 26-14 lead, and the Lions rallied for two touchdowns in the final three minutes to pull it out.



Since then, the Bears (5-8) have gotten considerably better. And on a windy 36-degree day, the Lions needed every bit of precision, and were able to maintain none. After piling up 191 yards in the first half and grabbing a 13-10 lead, they were blanked with only 76 more yards.

“I’m not in panic mode, I’m not losing confidence, man, we’re good,” Campbell said. “We got four to go, all we gotta do is get our discipline back and continue to fight like we fight. It wasn’t our day today, and we didn’t handle it well.”



You can chalk up some of it to life in the NFL, where teams aren’t separated by much. And Fields may be erratic, but he can flummox defenses. He rushed for 58 yards, threw for 223 and didn’t turn the ball over, while getting sacked three times.

You know what else happens when a team’s margins are narrowed? One decision by a referee can affect the outcome. It happened late in the third quarter, with the Bears facing fourth-and-13 from the Lions’ 38 in a 13-13 game. Fields was chased by Julian Okwara, who grabbed him around the legs as he tried to throw. The ball fluttered a short distance for an incompletion. The officials discussed, and despite the absence of an eligible receiver in the area, declared it wasn’t intentional grounding because the hit affected the trajectory of the pass.



On the next snap, fourth-and-13, Hutchinson jumped offside. With the free play, Fields lofted a 38-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore, who easily beat Jerry Jacobs. The penalty was especially egregious because the Bears later said they had no intention of snapping the ball, and were just going to punt.

“I’m disgusted with it, that play,” Hutchinson said. “That play just changed the momentum of the game, and that’s on me.”



It wasn’t the Lions’ worst effort of the season — we’ll keep that honor reserved for the 38-6 loss to the Ravens. But it was the sloppiest, against an opponent that struggles to score and a quarterback that struggles to throw.

“Every good defense has that confidence and swagger, and I feel like we’ve temporarily lost that spark,” defensive end John Cominsky said. “But we play Denver Saturday night, and can show the world we’re back and we’re ready to go.”



'Not ... who we plan to be'

Nobody was sharp, including Goff, who was 20-for-35 for 161 yards and under pressure often. The Lions’ offense runs on the run, and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had their moments (66 yards rushing each), but when penalties put the Lions in tough situations, Goff was forced to throw.

The turnovers and penalties threw off the timing, including down-and-distances. Campbell went for it on fourth down five times, mostly out of desperation, and converted only one.



“Today was not who we are or who we plan to be,” Goff said. “We had some undisciplined stuff unfortunately, very uncharacteristic of us. We have tons of confidence we’re gonna clean it up. A little adversity isn’t the worst sign in the world at this point in the year. A little reality check is OK.”

Reality checks are helpful, as long as you don’t revert to an alternate reality. The Lions have won nine games, several in convincing fashion, and that’s definitely part of who they are. Or is it, who they were?



The offensive line keeps getting dinged and started its ninth different combination Sunday. Star defensive tackle Alim McNeill is out four weeks with a knee injury. Amon-Ra St. Brown is getting shadowed and it may be wearing on him, as he finished with three catches for 21 yards.

The revitalized Broncos (7-6) come to Ford Field Saturday night, and then the Lions have two games against the Vikings sandwiched around a daunting trip to Dallas (9-3). (All indoor games, by the way). Campbell does a fine job not overreacting to a game or a moment, but this one bothered him because discipline is one of his favorite pillars.



“Maybe I need to push it a bit more, need to be a little more irritable,” he said. “I know everybody’s trying to grasp straws, what are we, what is this? I know exactly what we are. We’re a team that’ll fight, and we gotta do things right because any little mistake throws us off. But we got plenty here, and when we do things right, we’re pretty damn good.”

As the days get colder, the margins get narrower, on the field and on the scoreboard. The Lions believe they’re better than they look now, and just as good as they looked earlier. It’s a reality they’ll have to dig deep to rediscover.


Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com

@bobwojnowski

[dpatnod]

Wojo: Sloppy Lions veering toward a dangerous, slippery slope

Oh stop. They are just being exposed for what they are. A mediocre team. I guess that is improvement, all things considered.

[whatever_gong82]

Dan Campbell 'not worried' after another clunker, but Detroit Lions starting to show cracks


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press



CHICAGO — Dan Campbell keeps insisting he isn’t worried, and his team keeps playing clunkers of games.

Once the toast of the NFL, the Detroit Lions lost for the second time in three weeks on Sunday, 28-13, to the lowly Chicago Bears.



They turned the ball over three times, gift-wrapped 12 second-half points with careless defensive mistakes and managed just 61 yards of offense and no points in a hard-to-watch second half.

“I know that everybody’s trying to grab straws like what are we? What is this?” Campbell said. “I’m not worried. I know exactly what we are. We’re a team that’ll fight and we’ve got to do things right, cause any little mistake, man, it throws us off now. That’s just the type of team we are. But we got plenty here. We got plenty, and when we do things right, we’re pretty damn good. So we’ll get it cleaned up, man. We’ll move on.”


Once considered a lock to win their first division title in 30 years, the Lions (9-4) now appear to be in a dogfight for the NFC North title with four games to play.

They lead the division by two games over the Minnesota Vikings (7-6) and face the Vikings twice in the next four weeks. The Green Bay Packers, who are 6-6 entering their Monday night game with the New York Giants, also are within striking distance of the division lead.



The Lions have four games left against teams with winning records. The Packers play one team with a winning record — the Vikings in Week 17. Minnesota also has a game next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have won two straight games with a backup quarterback.

“Obviously, this is the month of December, teams start trending up and stuff like that so if we want to go to where we want to be, we got to make sure we’re playing our best football every game, getting better every game,” outside linebacker Julian Okwara said. “We can’t be sitting here making mistakes that bite us. We’ll get it right, though. We just got to clean it up.”


The Lions have lots to clean up after one of their sloppiest games of the season Sunday. They committed eight penalties, including a handful that stalled drives. They failed to pick up a first down on their first five drives of the second half.

And with the game tied at 13 late in the third quarter, they fell victim to a series of self-inflicted boneheaded mistakes.



The Bears (5-8) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:36 to play in the third quarter on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to DJ Moore. The Bears lined up in an offensive formation on fourth-and-13 hoping to draw the Lions offsides, and when Aidan Hutchinson jumped across the line of scrimmage, Fields threw deep to Moore, who ran by cornerback Jerry Jacobs.


The touchdown came one play after officials did not throw a flag for intentional grounding after Okwara hit Fields near midfield as Fields threw incomplete off one of his offensive lineman’s legs.

“The coaching point is discipline,” said Campbell, who declined comment on the non-penalty call. “It’s discipline. Across the board. And that’s why I bring that up. We’ve been a disciplined team and we just weren’t enough today and they were.”



Jared Goff and Graham Glasgow fumbled a quarterback-center exchange at the Lions’ 29-yard line on the next series, and the Bears scored five plays later when Fields scrambled around right end on third-and-goal from the 11.

Hutchinson ran a stunt with Levi Onwuzurike on the play, but Onwuzurike, playing his first game since Thanksgiving in place of the injured Alim McNeill, couldn’t get to the edge, giving Fields a clear path to the end zone.


“I really just saw green grass,” Fields said. “I'm looking for DJ to throw because he was one-on-one in kind of the back corner, but then I looked down and saw green grass right there, so just ran.”



The Lions failed to convert a fourth-and-1 run on their next possession, giving the Bears another short field for a field goal. And in cold and blustery conditions, the Lions couldn’t muster enough from their passing game to threaten another comeback in the final 9:20.

The Lions beat the Bears in November when they rallied from 12 down with 3 minutes to play. They committed four turnovers in that game and three the next week in a Thanksgiving loss to the Packers.



They’ve also squeaked by the Los Angeles Chargers in a shootout and held off a New Orleans Saints rally to win a nipper in their five games since the bye.

“If we want to be a playoff team, we got to play like a playoff team,” Lions safety Kerby Joseph said. “I feel like, like I said, when you’re at the top everybody want to bring you down, everybody gunning for you. Before we had these boys at our home and we did what we were supposed to do, and come in this time they was ready for us. I feel like if you want to go to the top, we got to play like we’re ready to go to the top.”


Fields completed 19 of 33 passes for 223 yards for the Bears and added 58 yards rushing on 12 carries, his first game with less than 100 yards rushing against the Lions since 2021. Moore had 88 yards from scrimmage and also scored on a 16-yard run.

Goff was 20 of 35 passing for 161 yards for the Lions. He threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds in the second quarter and two interceptions, both on nothing-to-lose fourth-and-long plays.



He threw three interceptions against the Bears in November and has 10 interceptions on the season, but said he has "a ton of confidence that we're going to clean" things up.

"A little adversity isn't the worst thing in the world at this point in the year," he said. "This is sure it.”



Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

[chemiclord]

I'm starting to get a little annoyed by Jared "Blue Skies" Goff, not gonna lie.

[dsred]

I think Jared smokes up before games...

[ghandi]

I'm starting to get a little annoyed by Jared "Blue Skies" Goff, not gonna lie.

Its funny he plays so well in stretches, then can be absolutely awful in stretches...I guess that is one of the main reasons why the Rams moved on.....In the 2 games against the Bears and the one against the Packers, 3 of the last 4 games, Goff himself has 10 turnovers. He has thrown 5 INTs against the Bears alone.

[mason reese]

Disagree with one thing. No amount of coaching will get you there with Goff as your QB and Brad and Dan's love for their try hard Jags. Culture for culture's sake is great, but the best culture to establish is a winning culture. And in order to win you might have to have a few so called "malcontents" with actual talent.

So dump Goff, Campbell, and Holmes in the off-season? Anyone else?

[dsred]

So dump Goff, Campbell, and Holmes in the off-season? Anyone else?

Didn't say that at all. Dan and Brad have to draft/trade/FA for talent a little more without such a fixation on "culture fit". You know what creates a great culture? Winning.

As far as Goff goes I am already on record here that he should not be extended/re-signed until he proves he can actually win in big games.

Next season let's bulk up the draft picks on O-line and D and see what Hooker has. Goff can live out his contract as a back up next season, or maybe trade him for picks at the draft.

[The Ken]

OK, as I mentioned a few weeks back when I got pelted on a few times with Virtual Rocks.

This is not a good football team; they have won due to circumstances (players out) and playing bad teams. In my eyes, they are the worst 9-4 NFL team, which means nothing, but you get the drama the statement says if you read into it.

Good teams get better in December or at least improve teams like the Detroit Lions last year, which nobody wanted to play the previous year.

GOFF is not the future; he was meant to be a bridge QB to get them through the rebuild, he has shown flashes of brilliance but the defense has rediscovered his Kryptonite, pressure both mental and physical, and he does not respond well to it. YES, he has made some fantastic plays.

The Offense is an overall turd right now, but it can light things up in a hurry; I am lost on how more talent on Offense this year has made the Offense worse this year overall from last year?

Lions Energy: the Lions admitted they were tired on Thanksgiving, but in the past five games, you can see they go through the motions with no fire, energy, and confusion.

They need to stop drinking the Kool-aid they are good or an elite team and remember each down is a death match dual or this year is toast.

[wcfwtf]

They have definitely hit a wall. Whether it’s a cement wall or cardboard we will find out.