After a brutal loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round, the Detroit Lions season has ended after a 15-2 regular season, the most wins in franchise history. From the beginning of the game it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Lions’ defense, which proved to be true, allowing 45 points, the second most the team had allowed all year just in front of the 48 points allowed to the Buffalo Bills earlier in the season. The Lions have often been able to combat defensive struggles with their high-powered offense, which did score 31 points against the Commanders, but it also came with costly turnovers that helped cause an early exit for the Lions in this year’s playoffs.
We’ll start with the good from the game against the Commanders because there was not much of it.
If it wasn’t already made clear by his regular season performances, running back Jahmyr Gibbs is a star player in the NFL who will continue to tear up the league for years to come. The Commanders struggled to come up with answers for Gibbs, with the RB averaging over seven yards per carry, recording 105 yards on 14 carries and finding the end zone twice. Gibbs was also second on the team in receiving yards with 70. When the Lions’ offense appeared to be struggling, they went to Gibbs, and when they did it worked. The team should’ve looked to get him the ball more, and it will perhaps be one they regret not giving Gibbs more touches.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had himself a nice playoff game as well, catching eight passes for 137 yards. A chunk of the yards came on the final drive when the Lions were already done for, but overall the fourth-year receiver had another great playoff game, posting at least 77 yards or more in all four of his career playoff games. Tight end Sam LaPorta had a fantastic one-handed grab in the end zone to go along with his 51 receiving yards. Receiver Jameson Williams also had an electric 61-yard end-around touchdown that got Ford Field to rise to its feet.
The last good moment from the game was when Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater got playoff snaps. Bridgewater came onto the field for three plays after quarterback Jared Goff was evaluated for a concussion. The Lions were able to score within the three plays Bridgewater was on the field, but it wasn’t about what “Teddy Two Gloves” was able to do, but more so his story. Bridgewater was a first-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 and was able to notch a Pro Bowl selection in his second season. But after a season-ending injury, he saw all of his 2016 season come to an end.
Bridgewater battled through many injuries in his career and saw many ups and downs. Bridgewater signed with the Lions as a backup QB in 2023, before retiring at the end of the season. Bridgwater then became the head coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High School, where he led them to the Florida Class 3A title. Bridgewater unretired after his championship and signed back with the Lions in December. For him to go from title-winning coach at his alma mater to the playoffs in a month was a great story. If Bridegwater’s days in the NFL are done, hopefully, the Lions can keep him around on staff, as he’s always been regarded in a high manner around the league.
Now, for the bad, for which there is a lot of from this game.
The easiest to address after the game is the defense. The defense did not seem prepared for the game, simple as that. I understand the amount of injuries the defense has sustained this year, it’s not easy to overcome when the potential defensive player of the year Aidan Hutchinson picks up a season-ending injury five weeks into the year. It also didn’t help when cornerback Amik Robertson broke his arm on the second play of the game. However, the injuries do not excuse the performance the defense put up on Saturday.
The Lions were able to hold the Commanders to just three points after the first two drives, from that point on the Commanders’ possessions went: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, end of half, punt, touchdown, touchdown, missed field goal, end of game kneel. Forcing one turnover on downs and one punt in a playoff game is not ideal.
There is not one player on the defensive I can recall having a standout game, which is not surprising after allowing 45 points. Many of the players seen on the field for the Lions Saturday will not be on the team next season with how many players will be coming back from injury. For the rest who will be on the team next season, a lot of work needs to be done if the team plans on having Super Bowl aspirations again.
Moving onto the offense, for a player making over $50 million dollars per year, Goff was subpar. Goff had his moments in the first half, but when it came down to it, he failed to deliver the big throw and gave away the ball four times. The Commanders entered the matchup with a not-great defense, but not a bad one either. They had just let Buccaneers’ QB Baker Mayfield have a 146.5 passer rating just last week. For comparison, Goff against the Commanders had a 59.7 passer rating, tied for his worst of the year which came in the Texans game, where he threw five interceptions.
Out of Goff’s four turnovers, the only one I do not fault him for was the fumble late in the first quarter. For one, I think it was an outrageously bad play call, but two, the offensive line collapsed right away on the play and gave Goff no time to react. If he was a mobile quarterback, I’m sure he could’ve escaped, but the Lions took the risk rolling with one of the few non-mobile quarterbacks in the NFL.
Goff’s other three turnovers, all interceptions, were all bad throws that came at bad times, outside of his last one when the game was essentially all but sealed. Just when it looked like the Lions might come up with a response, Goff dialed in another interception. He had a great regular season, minus the Texans game, and I’m not ready to give up on him, but games like this put into perspective how limited the team’s ceiling can become if all things are not clicking for him.
My last and perhaps biggest issue from the game was the coaching, something I had not complained about much at all this season. Offensively the Lions were still able to score 31 points, which is not a bad outing. But at the end of the day, there were still some questionable play calls by coveted offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is viewed as one of the best play callers in the NFL. Two plays in particular stand out to me as plays that cost the Lions a chance to win the game: The 3rd-and-1 play where Goff fumbled, and the trick play end around pass drawn up for Jameson Williams.
The 3rd-and-1 fumble will be a play that will cause nightmares to many Lions fans all over. With the Lions on the verge of going up 14-3 in the first quarter, the Lions decided to go with an empty backfield, despite Gibbs having over 50 yards on just four carries to this point in the game. Goff then fumbled which led to a long drive where the Commanders took a 10-7 lead, a 14-point swing in the playoffs is too crucial of a moment to come back from in some cases, and that stood true in this game. Not running the ball on 3rd-and-1 against one of the worst run defenses in the league will be something I truly never understand.
The second play referenced was the end around William’s pass play, which was essentially the dagger in the Lions’ season. The Lions were down 10 points with 12 minutes left in the game when this happened, which is still very much doable for a team with an explosive offense such as Detroit. The Lions have been a very successful trick play team this year, but down 10 points with 12 minutes left, is that really the time to try a trick play? Williams is a fantastic player, but is he really the guy you want throwing the ball in this situation? Williams of course could have thrown the ball out of bounds, but when a wide receiver gets the ball behind the line of scrimmage, all the chips are on the table, and they’re going to throw the football. It was a moment of getting too cute at a time of the game when it was not needed. Johnson did not call a bad game, but assuming it was his last in Detroit, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Defensively, Kliff Kingsbury made Aaron Glenn look like he had zero idea what the sport of football even was. When the Bills destroyed the Lions’ defense a month ago, I expected it. The Lions had a thousand injuries and were up against arguably the best QB in the league, Josh Allen. I knew going into the Commanders game it wouldn’t be easy for the defense with the Commanders being a top-five scoring offense. But, my goodness, you would have thought the Commanders were the greatest offense of all time. There was absolutely no game plan whatsoever to stop Washington, they had an answer for everything. There was no pressure and poor coverage just about every time Jayden Daniels threw the ball. Running Back Brian Robinson Jr. had 77 rushing yards on 15 carries, last week against Tampa Bay he had 16 yards in 10 carries. Running Back Austin Ekeler, who runs about as fast as your grandmother in the year 2025, had six carries for 47 yards including a 35-yard carry in the fourth quarter. It was stunning how poor the defense was.
I get it, the injuries stacked up, but it’s still no excuse for how poor the offense was. Just two weeks ago the team held the Vikings to nine points. Yes, Vikings’ QB Sam Darnold regressed back to his Jets’ form, but Minnesota still has guys like Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson on the team. Instead, the Lions let receiver Dyami Brown, who had barely eclipsed 300 yards in the regular season, go for 98 yards in this game. I think the summary of how the evening went for the Lions came when the team had 12 players on the field on a crucial fourth-down play that could’ve gotten them back in the game. It was a coaching disaster class across the board. I’m not sure if Glenn and Johnson were thrown off due to all the head coaching interviews they had conducted in the last week, but it was a pitiful performance by the two of them in what could be their last times calling plays for the organization.
What’s next for the Lions? Within the coming days or weeks, it would not shock me if Johnson and Glenn are announced as head coaches, leaving two important coaching positions wide open for the Lions to fill. The Lions also have a few key contributors slated to hit free agency such as Kevin Zeitler, Carlton Davis, Levi Onwuzurike, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Tim Patrick and Derrick Barnes.
The 2022 draft class will also be eligible to receive extensions. This class includes players such as Williams, Hutchinson, and safety Kerby Joseph who could also see paydays coming their way. However, the Lions will have to be careful with their money, signing guys such as Goff, St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Alim Mcneill and David Montgomery to extensions in the last year, the Lions already have a lot of money tied up into a few players.
Speaking of draft classes, the Lions will pick 28th in the draft in April. I don’t have many gripes with Lions’ General Manager Brad Holmes, words cannot describe how well of a job he has done in Detroit. However, last season’s draft class has not been great, and it makes me a little bit worried about this upcoming one with the Lions not having a plethora of great picks. Holmes has been able to find gems in later rounds such as St. Brown, Mcneill, Joseph and others, however, his past two draft classes have certainly fallen off after the second round.
Since 2023 the Lions have taken: Hendon Hooker, Brodric Martin, Colby Sorsdal, Antoine Green, Giovanni Manu, Sione Vaki, Mekhi Wingo and Christian Mahogany after the second round. The only player to receive real playing time in that group is Vaki, who primarily plays on special teams, and Mahogany who filled in for the injured Zeitler against the Commanders. 2024 first-round draft pick Terrion Arnold was a main starter for the Lions but struggled mightily, and it was made evident against Washington. I have faith in Holmes, but a repeat of the 2024 class would not be great for the Lions’ future.
The Lions have a busy offseason ahead of them if they want to be considered a serious contender for the Super Bowl again. Coaches will have to be hired, players will have to be signed and some may have to be traded if they want to get the team back to the top level. A roster overhaul does not need to happen, but players in certain position groups may want to start improving before it’s too late, looking at you, defensive line and cornerbacks.
It was a great season for the Lions with a lot of memorable moments, but in the end, it just wasn’t meant to be. It would’ve been an uphill battle with the amount of key injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The Lions will no doubt be back next season, and the rest of the NFL should get used to seeing them among the top teams for the foreseeable future. For now, it will be another grueling offseason that feels like it takes 10 years to complete, but when September comes around, the Lions will be ready to compete once again.
