Bad, Bad, Ugly - If You HAVE to Shit the Bed, Against the Bills is the Best Time

[dsred]

Good: Well this was the one game the Lions could afford to lose.

Bad: Both lines were outmatched, badly. As a result the running game is trending as badly as the defense.

Ugly: Jamo assuming the fetal position as others fought for the fumble recovery next to him.

I noticed that too. He gone.

[Sanders Fan]

Another Jared Goff NFL "first" fun fact. He is the first qb to throw for 400+ yards get 5+ td's and 0 int. and lose. .
Man, defense played baaad.

The only QB in history to win with 5 int and lose with 5 td.

[maxw3ll]

If this was a preview of the Super Bowl, I feel good about Campbell’s ability to figure out how to improve on what they did today.

I think there is something to this. It is hard to beat a team 2x. Just like the thread title, you would rather lose today and put together a better game plan in the bigger game.

Get back on track next week and keep coaching up the depth.

Some combination of JRM, moseley, rakestraw, SVSU guy, thor, iffy, and maybe Hutch can help this def unit.

offense can put high 20s on most teams. Def just needs a few plays.

[chemiclord]

What I'd say needs to happen is that the Lions can't keep coming out flat offensively. This isn't the first time the offense got the ball first, and just chunked their first couple drives. No, it's not every time, but right now, they can't afford to get the ball first, then go three-and-out. From this point forward, this offense has to hit the ground running.

[NewOrleansLion]

They needed to be able to run the ball and eat some clock. The running game was awful on both sides of the ball.

[froot loops]

The defense was bad, but it was better after the initial 21 point barrage. It's just that the offense put them in a bad position.

1. The first two 3 and outs almost doomed them.
2. They failed to score at the end of the half.
3. St. Brown's fumble combined with that facemask gave them an incredibly short field.
4. The failed onside kick returned to the 6 yard line.

I felt like the Bills had a better game plan and jumped the Lions early, especially attacking the Lions offense. Eventually, the Lions adjusted but they were in a hole. This is the type of matchup where getting a stop means giving up a field goal. Offensively they put up points but Goff had to shoulder the load in ways he never has before. He had to make a lot of throws on the run.

Jameson Williams is going nowhere.

[Sanders Fan]

Goff really is amazing. Like unflappable.

[Tom]

[/B]

I noticed that too. He gone.

Williams has played pretty tough. I don’t think one missed fumble recovery does anything.

[froot loops]

If you got rid of Jameson Williams you would have to get a speedster that can run block with the best of them. Not an easy replacement. Williams is probably going to top 1000 yards, he has 5 TDs. Saint gets a lot of open space in the slot with defenses paying attention to Williams

[ghandi]

If both of those are season ending, that might be the dagger.

I know the team has the "next man up" mentality but really we are at the point where the next man up is a pretty serious drop off in talent. Asking Pat O Connor and Kindle Vildor to step into those shoes is pretty much asking for defeat.

[froot loops]

They were OK with Vildor when they were running a rotation with Dorsey but Dorsey is done for the year. Some people will get healthy, some of the new guys will get more acclimated and they may have to change some schemes. But you cannot get any more injuries. A few weeks ago I was arguing with DanO about the injuries and how they could overcome them, but in the two games since they lost a considerable amount of players.

If you could say they won't lose any more players on defense to injury, then I think they could work together a defense that can work with the offense to still be Superbowl contenders. But who would bet on no more injuries?

The one saving grace is the Bill offense is the best offense they will face, so it won't look so bad against other teams.

[Iron Lion]

The extra AFC game is objectively the least important game on the schedule because it cannot be a common game in the division. Also, it is not a common game with Philly. So yeah sure, as chemi is saying, if we have to lose one, this is it. The last two weeks have been "slacking" wins, so now with an actual L our coach has an excuse to lay into the guys.

Last year I remember we had a stretch of like 4-5 games where we won by 14+ points, then hit adversity for a while starting at Thanksgiving. This year the Lions have just been absolutely murdering teams, to the point where winning by 14 feels like an off week. And yet, even just winning by 14 points in the NFL on a consistent basis is a huge deal, to the point that when the Lions were doing that last year, the Super Bowl conversation got started.

Ultimately I think when the Bills are on, and it's the regular season, they're tough as shit to beat. So many plays, Allen was just dropping it perfectly in the bucket. Not saying that as an excuse for losing, just saying that it takes one of the best teams in the league playing at their absolute peak to beat this Lions team.

It does feel like the '24 Lions are the '23 Lions on roids. When last year's Lions win by 14, this year's team wins by 40. When last year's team gets blown out to the Ravens, this year's team keeps it close to the Bills. When last year's team slumped, they alternated wins and losses, but when this year's team slumps, they mostly find ways to win.

On to Chicago.

[Fraquar]

Those last two wins were really the result of the opponent shitting the bed. Lions have been ripe for the taking for the last 3 weeks - and they got took this week.
Then again, it's to be expected. They are playing with a triage unit on defense.
-----
It's going to be the mother of playoff runs if they have to do it with waiver claims and street signings on defense.

[DanO]

If this was a preview of the Super Bowl, I feel good about Campbell’s ability to figure out how to improve on what they did today.

I was consoling myself while thinking this. It's hard to beat a team twice in a year much less three times which is why I don't want to see the Packers or the Vikings in the playoffs. Now we have the "upper hand" on the Bills. 😁😁😁😁😁

[Meano.Culpa]

I know the team has the "next man up" mentality but really we are at the point where the next man up is a pretty serious drop off in talent. Asking Pat O Connor and Kindle Vildor to step into those shoes is pretty much asking for defeat.

I guess one can hope that Brodric Martin and Emmanuel Moseley come back and play to their ceiling. Or Rakestraw’s hamstring heals in time for the playoffs.

Key return from injury should be Anzalone. Bills showed everyone how to attack the Lions - at the LB corps, particularly in coverage. Long has always been weaker against the pass, injuries have made Alexander less effective against the pass, and neither has been in camp long enough to properly be in communication.