The Lions have so many issues, it’s difficult to imagine success without their one, maybe, strength: The offensive line.
No Taylor Decker plus no Frank Ragnow vs. the Bears equals a disaster.
Anybody still think the Lions should move Decker to right tackle when he returns? Penei Sewell likely has a bright future, but was decidedly overmatched by Robert Quinn - and others - while pass blocking Sunday. So was the rest of the Lions’ depleted offensive line after Ragnow left early with an injury.
The Bears are a struggling entity, but the Lions were their elixir.
Chicago’s rookie quarterback Justin Fields is getting plenty of kudos for an impressive performance. He, however, benefited greatly from the Lions’ soft defense. Fields has a crack in his armor. Although mobile, he doesn’t pass well at all when pressured. Yet, leave him in the pocket, he will scorch defenses. It’s the case for most QBs. That’s understood, but it’s to even a wider degree for Fields.
At this stage of his career, Fields doesn’t process his progression of reads quickly. It didn’t matter Sunday because he had an inordinate about of time to throw.
Don’t blame Lions’ QB Jarad Goff for this loss. Under the circumstances, he is performing well. While he isn’t agile, he does have a good feel in the pocket. I’m sure there will be those who criticize Goff for the late fourth-down pass he did not complete to rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown. But honestly, don’t you think the Bears’ Allen Robinson would have made that play? Opposing defenses are focusing on T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift. They are daring the Lions to beat them with their wide receivers. There was some improvement Sunday, especially from St. Brown and Quintez Cephus, but far from enough.
The Lions were 1-for-3 attempting fourth-down conversions, the two failures in the scoring zone. In the process, six points were taken off the board in the red zone. The Lions’ still lost by 10. I have no issue with head coach Dan Campbell being aggressive in those situations. His defense was getting gashed by the Bears running game.
The Lions, especially, cannot afford red zone turnovers. The ones Sunday were inexcusable.
In truth, we don't remotely know if Campbell is a good coach. Even in the realm of game management, he is in a “damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t” situation. His personnel is inferior. The notion there isn’t that much of a separation between the NFL’s best and worst squads is a misnomer.
The Bears are far from one of the NFL’s top teams. Yet, the discrepancy between the talent of the Bears and Lions was noticeable.
There are some games this season the Lions might win this season. Cincinnati, Philly, Atlanta at home. They should be very competitive in a rematch with the Bears at Ford Field.
There are no obvious wins, though.
The Lions must play nearly perfect football to win a game.
Doesn’t seem like it will happen anytime soon.