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Detroit Lions photo by Jeff Nguyen
The Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving performance gave fans at Ford Field little to be thankful for.
Simply put, the 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers exposed the team for what it is: not great, and maybe not worthy of the playoffs. Could the return of center Frank Ragnow reinvigorate the team? Very possible. Could the absence of Amon-Ra St. Brown hurt? Very likely. Do the Lions miss Sam LaPorta? Definitely.
Right now, Coach Dan Campbell can't say things are fine, or that the team needs to make some little fixes. Things just seem off, as if every team has the Lions' number.
The defensive line put so little pressure on Packers quarterback Jordan Love, which gave him plenty time to complete passes. It took the offensive line time before it figured out ways to give quarterback Jared Goff time to throw. Still, there were times Goff found himself kissing the ground, getting pounded by the defense.
"We are in a little bit of a hole," Campbell said at the post-game press conference. "But that's just what it is. There's nothing more than that. All we've got to do is worry about cleaning up this and then getting to the next game and find a way to win the next one in front of us."
One fan on YouTube commented on Campbell's press conference, writing:
"After 12 games, we are who we are. We’re the team that misses two or three plays where we gotta have it, and the team that “has a few things to clean up” that never get fixed."
Another person wrote:
"As a Packer fan, it seemed some key injuries caught up to you today, especially on the o-line. Gotta love your coach and the grit in your team though. Lots of be proud of."
Here's what sports writers had to say.
The Lions aren’t fooling anyone right now. They also aren’t scaring anyone, or sacking anyone.
The problems are growing and the hole is deepening and they’re officially in dangerous territory, if not dire straits. Forget about Super Bowl talk or division title talk. The Lions will spend the final five games scrapping to stay alive, and you have to consider the real possibility they may not be a playoff team.
Their flaws were on display again Thanksgiving Day, exposed again by rival Green Bay. The Packers (8-3-1) are doing what the Lions used to do, and looking like the Lions (7-5) used to look, not that long ago. Green Bay made the bold calls and the clutch plays and beat the Lions at their own game, 31-24, to pull farther ahead in the NFC North.
Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press:
Jared Goff got off to a slow start, missing on his first three passes, then completed 15 straight before a Jameson Williams drop ended that streak in the fourth quarter. Goff led Williams too far on his first pass of the game, when he got rid of the ball early under pressure from Micah Parsons, and he threw the ball behind Williams on a shallow crossing route on his drop. Goff also dropped a throwback lateral from David Montgomery that went for a 9-yard loss and threw low to Tom Kennedy during a two-minute drill late in the first half, forcing the Lions to use their second timeout. Give Goff credit for moving the offense and spreading the ball to his receivers after Amon-Ra St. Brown injured his ankle in the first quarter. It wasn’t easy playing from behind with a dearth of talent on offense. Grade: B-minus.
Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press:
This was like hosting Thanksgiving dinner and forgetting to turn on the oven. Leaving the pecan pie at the store. Dropping a dish of mashed potatoes — on fourth down, of course. And realizing the turkey never cooked.
Ugh. What a great meal ruined. A chance for a great day that never came together.
Per The Athletic’s playoff simulator, the Lions’ NFC North odds have plummeted after Thursday’s loss — sitting at 11 percent after this game. Their playoff odds in general are 58 percent, down from 73 percent entering Week 13. And that’s before the rest of the week’s games unfold.
The Lions finish with the Cowboys at home next Thursday, travel to Los Angeles to face the 9-2 Rams, host the Steelers, then hit the road for games against the Vikings and Bears to end the season. Winning four of five would be enough to get in, but that’s wishful thinking given how hot and cold the team has been. The return of Frank Ragnow should help, but if St. Brown misses time, it’s going to be hard to generate offense consistently. And if this defense continues to play like this, the playoffs could become a mirage.
Entering the contest, the Lions were also dealing with key injuries to tight ends Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright in addition to wide receiver Kalif Raymond and starting center Graham Glasgow on offense. Then All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
Campbell thinks St. Brown could miss a week or two.
Without St. Brown, practice squad veteran Tom Kennedy stepped up to make plays on offense and special teams. Kennedy, who was signed to the Lions' active roster from the practice squad on Wednesday night, finished with four catches for 36 yards.
Emmett Matasovsky, Sports Illustrated:
One week after the former Lions’ second overall selection had mixed reviews against the Giants, Hutchinson was not at the top of his game against the Packers. The Michigan man was schemed out of the game for the second time against Green Bay.
Hutchinson did add six tackles, a vast improvement from his zero-stat week one performance against Green Bay. Yet, the pass-rush was largely dormant and for a majority of the game, neither Hutchinson or Davenport had their presence felt.
Frankly, the best Lions’ defensive linemen on the field was Alim McNeill, and it was not even close. Micah Parsons (2.5 sacks) was clearly the better edge in the headline matchup of edge rush stars.
