The snapshot of the season was Amik Robertson lying on his back, his arm apparently fractured in two. The snapshot of the game was Jared Goff landing on his back as safety Quan Martin waltzed into the end zone with a pick six. But it's the sounds that will stick with Dan Skipper, the hoots and hollers that drifted into Detroit's locker room as the Commanders celebrated on the other side of the wall.
"I think we all make memories of things that you can (use) during those days of training camp, and this is definitely an audible memory that I’ll remember," Skipper said. "Last year it was seeing all the confetti, and this year it’s hearing this for, whatever, an hour after the game? It sucks."
Frank Ragnow stared into the distance as he spoke with reporters. His eyes were glazed over, like he was stuck in a dream. Saturday night turned into a nightmare for the Lions, one that will haunt them for a long time. "Just like last year," said Ragnow, "I don't think I'm ever going to forget it. It's always going to be there, that (scar) that's a constant reminder."
"It'll probably bother me forever, honestly," said Taylor Decker. "You never know what could've been, and you never know when your opportunities are going to come. You can't take those games for granted, which I don't think we did. We just didn't execute well. I'm walking up here to the locker room and have to hear them cheer, and rightfully so for them. They deserve to cheer, and we just have to sit here and listen to it."
Ragnow and Decker had just helped the Lions put up over 500 yards of offense, including 200 on the ground. Detroit had out-gained Washington on the night. The Lions had the Commanders on their heels late in the first quarter, driving for another touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
They emptied the backfield on 3rd and 1 in the red zone -- why? -- Amon-Ra St. Brown stumbled on his route -- how? -- Jared Goff paused as Dorance Armstrong broke through the offensive line -- what!? -- and suddenly the ball was loose. The Commanders recovered, the Lions unraveled.
"That was where the beginning of it started," said Dan Campbell.
Five of the Commanders' next six drives ended in touchdowns. Three of the Lions' next six drives ended in turnovers, two on poorly-thrown balls by Goff and another pick on the part of Jameson Williams on a poorly-called play by Ben Johnson. The Lions won a franchise-record 15 games this season, including one where they turned it over five times. The Commanders gave them no such pass, as Jayden Daniels took them to class.
"They just came out there and whooped us," said Skipper.
"It hurts," said defensive end Josh Paschal. "It hurts to lose like this."
The Lions lost the way they had won most of the season. It was Washington who controlled the clock, pounded the ball on early downs and ultimately wore the opposition out. It was Washington who boldly converted three fourth downs after failing on their first attempt. It was Washington who won the turnover battle with ballhawks in the secondary. It is Washington who will play next weekend for a spot in the Super Bowl. It is Detroit who will watch.
Give the Commanders credit, said Skipper: "They flipped the script on us today."
Goff apologized to the fans, whose roars faded into regrets by the fourth quarter. He called the finality of the outcome the "worst part of this job," especially "when you feel like you let guys down." Goff had a clunker when the Lions needed a clinic -- his 59.7 passer rating marked a season-low -- while the rookie on the other side danced on Detroit's depleted defense like a seasoned pro.
"They played well and we didn’t, and that’s the bottom line," said Goff. "Had I played better, do we win? Possibly, and that’s the part that’ll eat me alive for the whole offseason.”
Campbell took his own share of the blame, notably for Detroit's back-breaking 12-men-on-the-field penalty on fourth down that helped restore Washington's double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. It was the sort of procedural error that was beneath this team all season, typically so well-coached. If this was Aaron Glenn's last game in charge of the defense, it was an unfortunate way to go, almost unfair, torn apart as it tried desperately to mount pressure on Daniels.
It was also rather fitting when Robertson went down on the second play of the game, fighting back tears as he was guided off the field by two trainers, followed later by Ifeatu Melifonwu and for a spell even Brian Branch. Injuries will never be a crutch for the Lions, especially under Campbell, but they were an undeniable strain on this defense by season's end. They threw what they had at Daniels, who threw 299 yards and two touchdowns back in their face, and a number of clutch runs.
Alex Anzalone was still in his pads as he tried to process the loss, as if the season wouldn't be over until he took them off. The defense, he said, just never seized control: "Momentum is a big part of the game, and it seemed like they had it all game." It was Anzalone who stood in the bowels of Levi's Stadium last year as the 49ers celebrated on the field and set the standard for the Lions through reddened eyes: Super Bowl or bust. Late Saturday night, he talked about "grieving" their dreams.
"You go through denial, you go through sorrow, whatever the five stages are, it's just like that," he said.
The fifth stage is acceptance, and there was already a hint of it in Anzalone's voice when he said, "Last year was tough. This year, it almost seemed like things didn't go our way and we didn't necessarily deserve it. You're just kind of numb to (the loss), to a certain extent. At least I am."
Deserving and destined are different things, and fate indeed worked against the Lions this year. The meant-to-be plays Saturday night favored the visitors, like when Daniels chucked a moon ball to Dyami Brown who was all but blinded by Kerby Joseph as it dropped into his arms. It set up Washington's third touchdown, and Daniels popped up grinning like a kid at recess.
The Lions' roster will look undeniably different next season. It should look better simply by getting healthy, an encouraging thought for a team that spent most of the past six months laying waste to the league. But in the wreckage of a lost season, that was only a painful reminder of what could have been. The biggest changes could come on the sideline, where both Johnson and Glenn are entertaining head-coaching jobs.
"You’re going to have friends that might not be on the team anymore, friends that might not play football anymore, coaches that might be gone," Decker said. "And that sucks. Because I want that ultimate goal for everybody in here. I want it for them more than I want it for me. If it was just me getting it, I wouldn’t give a sh*t about it. But when you’re doing it together with people that you care about, that’s what’s special. And we fell short."
Campbell teared up at the podium talking about his players, and how they kept picking themselves up this season with "bodies beat to sh*t." A short while later, Goff batted the same podium in angst, searching for the right thing to say: "I’m so painfully disappointed, and sorry to our fans. It sucks. This is as tough as it gets." In the locker room, Ragnow tried to explain his emotions. He did so with one word, and a deep, weary sigh: "Sad."
Skipper, the tallest player in the NFL, was the last man standing as his teammates trickled out the door and into the offseason. The weight of the moment seemed to hit him when he looked ruefully to the floor and realized, "Next thing up is OTA’s -- like, f*ck." It's all the same when "you don't win the last game," he said. The only difference might be that "you're a playoff check short."
A few hours prior, Ford Field was full to the rafters, where fireworks exploded as the Lions took a 7-0 lead. The playoffs were full of promise. The players were full of belief, certain that this was the year.
"But right now," said Skipper, "it’s an empty, shi*ty feeling."