Uh-oh. This is not good.
In a matter of weeks, the Lions have transformed from an apparent Super Bowl contender into a mediocre football team.
Perhaps there has been denial. Certainly, this town doesn’t want to believe it’s true.
But what other conclusion can be made after Sunday’s dismal loss to the Bears?
The Lions, after all, were fortunate to win the first time the teams met at Ford Field.
Recent victories over the Chargers and Saints could have gone either way, and the Lions were beaten soundly by the Packers on Thanksgiving Day.
Undoubtedly, the masses will put the blame on Detroit’s defense. It wasn’t good, especially as Bears’ quarterback Justin Fields set the tone early with multiple chunk-yardage runs.
But in the second half, as the Lions defense settled a bit, the offense became unglued. Quarterback Jared Goff is turning the ball over too much. The fumbled snap was a killer. The Lions only scored 13 points, none in the second half.
Also, head coach Dan Campbell continues to roll the dice. He went for it too early in his own territory again.
He has a solid team now. It is in playoff contention. The “nothing ventured, nothing gained” aspect of his daring no longer applies. There is plenty to lose, you know, like an apparently hard grip on the NFC North title, and the home playoff game for the first time in the more than two decades of Ford Field’s existence it will bring.
In the process, the Lions have made a more reasonable schedule than the top NFC contenders moot. Are the Lions, really, considerably better than Denver, Dallas, and Minnesota twice?
It starts with the offense. The Lions’ strength is their offense. But it’s been a liability lately. Obviously, Goff must pick it up. The Lions don’t have a good enough defense to play over turnovers and Campbell’s miscalculations as a rambling, gambling man.
Four games left. That’s all. The Lions must pull it together.
While I do feel the Lions are much better suited to pull out of such a tailspin than in the past, this is nonetheless disturbing.
Hopefully for the Lions’ long-suffering fans, it’s an aberration, not a trend.