Throughout this winless Lions season, the players have fought for Dan Campbell and his coaches. On Thursday, with America watching, Campbell and his coaches failed their players, who also failed themselves. The Lions lost to the Bears and a backup quarterback for the third Thanksgiving game in a row, which is as real as it is unreal and altogether ridiculous.
But here we are.
It didn't have to end like this, with Cairo Santos knocking home a field goal to sink the Lions at the death for the third time this season. It couldn't possibly end like this when the Bears offense took the field with 8:30 to play, trailing by one.
"I didn't think there was a scenario when we left the field for that last time that we wouldn't be back out there," said Jared Goff.
It didn't have to end like this with the Bears facing third and 9 deep in Detroit territory with 1:54 to play. The Lions were coming out of a timeout, prepared for whatever Chicago's offense might have in store. Then Chicago's offense changed plays at the line of scrimmage and Detroit's defense panicked. It wasn't prepared, after all. With his secondary scrambling and linebacker Alex Anzalone gesturing wildly in the middle of the field, Campbell was forced to call his second timeout in a row. Which, as it turns out, is a penalty for delay of game.
"Obviously, you can't do that," Campbell said. "We had a miscommunication. Half of our secondary had one call, half had the other."
The players should have known better, yep. And the coaches should have ensured they knew better on the other side of a timeout, which came on the other side of the two-minute warning. The Lions went straight from a huddle to 'Huh??' which could be excused in the first couple weeks of the season. Not in the 12th.
"It was something we had talked about," Campbell said.
Then they didn't talk about it enough.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of it where they’ve taken two timeouts in a row," said Bears quarterback Andy Dalton, who followed in the footsteps of backup Chase Daniel in 2018 and backup-to-be Mitch Trubisky in 2019. "But I mean, they did. If they didn’t, we had a good play call and probably would’ve gotten the first down there."
Indeed, the Lions' defense was so divided by confusion -- so unprepared -- that Campbell said his only alternative to calling the illegal timeout was to "stand there and watch them score, I guess."
Still, it didn't have to end like this on the ensuing snap, third and four from Detroit's 11. The Lions could have forced a field goal and given their offense a chance. They could have surrendered a touchdown and given their offense a chance! The one thing they couldn't do, down to one timeout with time ticking down, was concede a first down. Which was exactly what they conceded when Aaron Glenn's defense played so far off the Bears' receivers they all but passed Dalton the gravy. Would he like the stuffing, too?
Dalton hit a wide-open Damiere Byrd for a seven-yard gain over the middle of the field, and there went the clock. And there went another win for the Lions, flushed down the drain for the whole country to see.
"The mistakes killed us," Campbell said, "especially offensively."
Oh, right. The offense. For the third week in a row, the Lions failed to win a game where they held their opponent to 16 points or fewer. At one point, even O.J. Simpson was wondering who the heck was calling their plays. That would be Campbell, who coached not to lose for the second (third?) week in a row and got the loss he deserved. He was bold and brave in the beginning of the season and now he's burying drives before they're over.
Look, no one wants to be facing third and 32, as the Lions were midway through the second quarter. But with a decent gain from midfield, they could have at least played for a field goal. Instead, Campbell dialed up a draw to Jamaal Williams that went for one yard. The Lions punted, and got what they deserved when the Bears were in the end zone two plays and 69 yards later.
Look, no one wants to be facing third and 32, as the Lions were again midway through the fourth quarter. But surely there has to be a better call in the playbook than a pass that traveled further horizontally than it did vertically. The Lions punted, and got what they deserved when their offense never came back on the field.
"Those are tough to find calls for, third and 32," Campbell said. "But I bring it up again: when your defense is playing like it is, you don't want to do anything to mess that up. ... The bottom line is, we put ourselves in those third-and-a mile situations and that’s on us. It’s just too much, man. Those things kill you."
Those things would be penalties, which came in droves. Twice on Thursday, the Lions were penalized on three offensive snaps in a row. They turned first and 10 into first and 30 with false start-holding-false start, then turned second 7 into second and 32 with false start-holding-holding. The flags were flying like turkeys, falling from the sky one after another. There were 10 of them on the Lions, a season high, which doesn't include those the Bears declined.
"I already know without looking, it’s going to be some sloppy fundamentals," Campbell said of all the holding calls. "We didn’t step where we should’ve stepped, you’re a little tired — so are they — you lag behind and then you get caught holding."
The penalties are on the players. They're also on the coaches, who haven't drilled enough discipline into this team. Holding reflects faulty technique. False starts reflect a lack of awareness. Both are a problem this late in the year. Again, 'sloppy fundamentals' could be excused in Week 1 or 2. Not in Week 12, with the Lions trending in the wrong direction.
"It's a concern, because those things get you beat," Campbell said. "It’s something we have to continue to address because we won’t be able to overcome these things if we don’t. I'm not concerned. It certainly aggravates me and frustrates me, but I’m not concerned, like, 'Oh no, what are we doing?' We’re coaching them up and we gotta get them better. And we will."
The Lions continue knocking on the door of their first win of the season. It's one thing to be turned away by a better team. On Thursday, with America peering through the window, the Lions opened the door and then slammed it in their own face. The coaches let down the players, who let down each other. It didn't have to end like this, but it did.