Getty Dan Campbell on the field for the Lions against New England.
The Detroit Lions have talked about taking the next step, but until there is any semblance of change on the field, that talk will clearly remain very cheap. That’s more the case with Dan Campbell.
So far, the best example of that came up in Week 5 against the New England Patriots. The Lions thought they had a chance to score a solid win going into the bye week to gain some momentum. Instead, it was more of the same in a 29-0 loss.
Campbell continues to shoot the team in the foot with his poor decision making in games. Detroit was 0-6 on fourth down in the game, and Campbell took far too many gambles with a hobbled offense and a bad defense trying to put things back together.
Decision making hasn’t looked as if it is a strong suit for Campbell early in his career, and that continued in this game. Campbell rolled the dice irresponsibly on the first drive with a terrible call, spotting New England three points.
From then, the Lions went on to drive back into New England territory. On fourth and nine, the Lions elected to go for it rather than punt or try the field goal. A sack, a fumble and a return later, it was a touchdown. After the game, Campbell lamented the missed assignment rather than his own mental error.
At the end of the day, the coach once again helped play a role in momentum wildly shifting for the Lions. It’s simply unacceptable to see this play out every week, and Campbell has to realize the mistakes he is making and how critical they are. The Lions aren’t ready for such gutsy coaching.
As a result of these moves, the honeymoon has to be over with the Detroit fanbase with Campbell. He might offer some fun soundbites and show a love for the city, but he is a poor football strategist. It’s irresponsible to go for as many fourth downs as Campbell does, especially with a punter like Jack Fox at his disposal.
Winning football is always going to be achieved in all three phases, and no matter how edgy Campbell wants to be, he’s never going to be able to skip a step no matter how hard he tries. Someone needs to step up on the staff or front office and urge Campbell to reign it in.
The honeymoon with the new coach is long over. Campbell came into this season with expectations for his team to be better, and he has not matched those efforts whatsoever.
What else was learned from this frustrating lost hunt? Here’s a look at some other facts of note.
Jared Goff Played His Worst Game With Lions
Winning a game on the road always requires a team to have elite quarterback play, and Jared Goff picked the worst time for his ugliest day as a Lions passer.
Not only was Goff sacked times, he had a back breaking interception early in the game with the Lions driving, and also had the critical fumble for a score. Goff had only 19 completions for 229 yards and was far from the elite passer that he has looked like early in the year. Many spotted him missing wide open wideouts on the field:
A lazy impatient play from Goff cost the Lions a TD on 4th down. Just awful man.
Many folks haven’t bought into Goff hype no matter how solid Goff has looked. Perhaps this is the reason why that is the case. He’ll have to re-center himself during the Detroit bye.
Detroit’s Top Offense Looked Like a Fraud
The Lions had plenty of adversity last week and managed 45 points. This week, with similar adversity, the Lions could barely move the ball and were stuck in the mud.
Why is that the case? It could be a tough road environment, or the bevy of injury the Lions were facing. It could certainly be the presence of a defensive legend in Bill Belichick on the other sideline. Perhaps, though, water merely found its level with Ben Johnson.
Johnson had earned solid marks after a good start, but all that goodwill hit the skids in a big way this week. The Detroit offense was disorganized and made simple mistakes. They won’t be the top offense in the NFL anymore after a poor 312 yard performance in this game.
The pressure will be on Johnson to figure some things out from the bye and get things going again. He has enjoyed a bright start to his career, but like Aaron Glenn, the hype machine must be slowed to a crawl now.
Lions’ Injury Rash Has Become Absurd
The Lions came into the game already facing a desperate injury situation, and things got even worse as the game wore on. A scary neck injury to Saivion Smith early on simply set the tone for what was to come.
At one point, things got so bad in the secondary that the team was forced to start rookie cornerback Chase Lucas at safety. If that doesn’t sum things up, nothing will. The Lions are lacking depth and players are dropping like flies in multiple different spots, which is frustrating.
Perhaps the Lions need to take a look at their training staff to figure out why they can’t keep a team on the field whatsoever.
Lions’ Stat of the Game: 0
That’s the number of fourth down conversions the Lions had on the day. The team tried again and again to go for fourth down plays and came up empty-handed every single time. It was an embarrassing mark for the team given how many times the Lions tried and failed.
Lions MVP: None
The Lions didn’t deserve to have a top player in this game. It was an ugly effort from the start, and the team had nobody stand out on offense or defense in a positive way. Arguably, it was the ugliest game that the team has had under Dan Campbell and his staff. Nobody deserves credit on either side of the ball for a blowout loss and a shutout.
Lions’ Quote to Note
“You can’t play that way unless your head coach doesn’t have ’em ready, so that’s on me.” -Dan Campbell.
After the game, Campbell wanted all the heat for what played out on the field, and he’s going to get it, whether or not he likes it. The Lions weren’t ready by Campbell’s admission, and the team has to find a way to change some things up during the bye to re-center themselves.
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