For the second time in as many years, the Detroit Lions are in the market for a new offensive coordinator.

The team announced Tuesday evening it’s planning to part ways with John Morton, who was hired last offseason, lost his play-calling duties halfway through the year, and wasn’t retained at season’s end.

After the Lions‘ offensive dysfunction (as well as a really bad defense) contributed to missing the playoffs, the stakes for Dan Campbell’s next hire could not be higher. While OC Ben Johnson was a massive hit, Campbell’s other two hires, Morton and Anthony Lynn, were flops.

Let’s take a look at some potential candidates for the Lions’ vacant OC job.

Todd Monken, former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator

Ravens coach John Harbaugh was fired on Tuesday after 18 seasons, likely leaving Monken without a job. The Athletic reported on Tuesday night that part of the reason for Harbaugh’s dismissal was his unwillingness to let Monken go. Monken was the OC for the last three seasons, when Baltimore’s offense was consistently one of the most explosive in the league — albeit with a much different quarterback than Detroit in the speedy, shifty Lamar Jackson.

The Ravens had a top-two rushing offense in all three seasons under Monken and finished No. 1 in total offense in 2024. Monken, 59, has further experience as an OC with the Georgia Bulldogs (2020-22) — with whom he was a two-time national champion — the Cleveland Browns (2019), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2018).

The one thing Monken’s candidacy lacks is a connection to Campbell, which, in this process, matters a lot. But given the desperation to get things back on track, perhaps his ample play-calling experience will lessen that concern.

Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator

Robinson’s future is in flux after Atlanta cut ties with general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Raheem Morris on Sunday night. He spent two seasons with the Falcons, overseeing a unit that finished sixth and 14th in total offense while being hampered by a quarterback controversy featuring a late-30s Kirk Cousins coming off a torn Achilles and 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr.

Robinson, 39, doesn’t have a prior working relationship with Campbell, but he does have one with quarterback Jared Goff, which could help bridge that gap. Robinson overlapped with Goff in the Los Angeles Rams organization for two seasons (2019-20), including one as an assistant quarterbacks coach. Robinson spent five total seasons in L.A. under coach Sean McVay, including two as the passing game coordinator and head quarterbacks coach.

During his playing career as a quarterback, Robinson spent half the 2010 season with the Lions but never saw a snap.

Brian Daboll, former New York Giants head coach

Daboll, a former Michigan State grad assistant (1998-99), won five Super Bowls over two stints as an assistant with the New England Patriots (2000-06, 2013-16). He also won a national championship with Nick Saban as Alabama’s OC and quarterbacks coach (2017) before landing a job with the Buffalo Bills (2018-21) as an OC, where he was credited with helping kickstart quarterback Josh Allen’s career.

His candidacy doesn’t suffer from a lack of familiarity. Daboll, 50, interviewed Campbell for his first full-time NFL coaching gig with the Miami Dolphins in 2011, which resulted in a classic Campbell story about the Lions coach slamming chairs and hitting walls in hopes of landing the job. It is, however, hurt by questions about the culture he established during his time as Giants coach (2022-25). He was fired in November after posting a 20-40-1 record.

David Blough, Washington Commanders assistant quarterbacks coach

Blough, a former quarterback, spent two stints with the Lions after going undrafted out of Purdue in 2019 and has had a quick rise in the coaching profession since retiring in 2023. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday night, just hours after Morton was let go, that Blough was on Detroit’s radar.

He’s one of the more inexperienced options on the list, with no play-calling experience on his resume. His only two seasons in coaching have come as an assistant quarterbacks coach for the Commanders, and at just 30 years old, he’s a year younger than Goff. But his first season as a coach was spent working with the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, quarterback Jayden Daniels, and his one season with Goff in Detroit as a player (2021) likely established a good baseline for their potential working relationship.

Declan Doyle, Chicago Bears offensive coordinator

Doyle, 30, is one of the hottest young names in the coaching profession. After beginning his coaching career as a student assistant at Iowa, he was hired by Payton in 2019 to be an offensive assistant in New Orleans (2019-22), where he overlapped with Campbell for two seasons.

Doyle rejoined Payton as a tight ends coach in Denver for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and got his big break this past offseason when Ben Johnson took a chance on him as the new OC in Chicago. He wasn’t in a play-calling role, so if the Lions intend to have Doyle do that, they’d be able to poach him without issue. But like Blough, calling plays is something he’s never done before, so it’d be a bit of a gamble.

Pete Carmichael, Denver Broncos senior offensive assistant

Given some of Carmichael’s parallels to Morton — both in their mid-50s, both connections from back in the Saints days, both most recently worked in Denver under Sean Payton — I don’t know if Carmichael’s hiring would satisfy the fanbase, but one thing Carmichael has that Morton didn’t is 15 years’ worth of OC experience in New Orleans (2009-2023). Which kind of counts for a whole lot.

For the most part, Carmichael, 54, didn’t call plays in New Orleans until after Payton was gone, so he’s not a flawless candidate. But he’s certainly experienced in the role at large, which could help him get on the same page with Campbell quickly.

Thomas Brown, New England Patriots passing game coordinator and tight ends coach

A few years ago, Brown was thought of as one of the league’s top up-and-coming offensive minds. After three seasons with the Rams as an assistant head coach and position coach (2020-22), one of which overlapped with Goff, he became the Carolina Panthers’ OC in 2023. He was named the league’s No. 2 OC in an NFL Players Association survey, but left during a regime change the following offseason.

He worked with Caleb Williams as the Bears’ passing game coordinator in 2024 and was promoted to OC and interim head coach as Chicago cleaned house midseason. This past season, Brown, 39, worked as the passing game coordinator for a revitalized Patriots offense featuring quarterback Drake Maye playing at an MVP level.

Kliff Kingsbury, former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator

Kingsbury, one of the few candidates on this list with head coaching experience, went through the highest of highs and lowest of lows over his two seasons with the Commanders, who are letting him go after a disappointing 5-12 season. Kingsbury called the offense that led Washington to an NFC Championship appearance and Daniels to the 2024 Rookie of the Year, but the offense fell apart in 2025 as Daniels was plagued by injuries.

Kingsbury, 46, doesn’t really seem like a match for Detroit on the surface. Not only is he missing a connection to Campbell, but he runs an Air Raid offense and most of his notable successes — Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and Daniels — have been mobile quarterbacks. Still, he has a ton of play-calling reps under his belt and could be a high-ceiling option.

Internal candidates

Hank Fraley, Lions offensive line coach

Fraley has been with the Lions since 2018, when he joined the staff of then-OC Jim Bob Cooter as an assistant offensive line coach. After he became the head position coach in 2020, the Lions’ offensive line gained a reputation as one of the best in the league, with players like Penei Sewell, Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker reaching All-Pro and Pro Bowl levels.

Fraley, 48, interviewed for the Seattle Seahawks’ vacant OC job last offseason, but wound up returning to Detroit, where he had the title of run game coordinator added to his plate. One could argue his resume was stronger a season ago; following Ragnow’s retirement, the Lions’ offensive line was their most inconsistent unit, and Detroit’s run game took a significant step back. Still, Fraley is a highly respected coach who could soon earn a bigger role.

Scottie Montgomery, Lions wide receivers/assistant head coach

Montgomery has coached running backs and wide receivers for the Lions, and while it certainly helps that each unit is packed with talent, both reached a consistent level of excellence under his tutelage. The rushing tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery was elite in 2023 and 2024; as the wide receivers coach this past season, he led a unit that featured two receivers who finished in the top nine in receiving yards.

Montgomery, 47, has been an offensive coordinator at two of his college jobs, Duke (2013-15) and Maryland (2019-20). In between, he served as the head coach at East Carolina (2013-15). Montgomery is a sharp, detail-oriented coach who could help refine Detroit’s attention to detail, which was sorely lacking in 2025.

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In the wake of a disappointing end to the 2025 season, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has been consistent about two things when it comes to this upcoming offseason:

Changes are coming and he will be looking at everything.

Where are those changes most likely to occur? More importantly, how can the Lions (8-8) get back into the playoffs in 2026? Here’s a look at the three biggest issues facing the Lions entering the offseason, and how they can overcome them to become a contender once again.

Fix the offensive line

The Lions always expected to lose offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn at some point. They did not expect to lose All-Pro center Frank Ragnow to sudden retirement when they did, and the lack of preparedness to tackle that scenario would hang over the entire season like a dark cloud.

Detroit’s run game was consistently inconsistent. The Lions ran for under 100 yards in seven of 16 games — they had just eight such instances over the last three seasons combined — and lost all seven of those contests. While the pass protection was nothing to write home about for most of the season, the Lions’ deficiencies on the ground robbed them of their identity, which left them up creek without a paddle when adversity struck in the back half of the season. As the Lions’ season fell apart, their offense merely tried to hold on for dear life to make up for a subpar defense, rather than dictate the terms of engagement, as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

“It’s always been a big emphasis every single week, the run game and trying to get it going,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said this week. “And sometimes you get behind the eight ball, and you’ve got to throw it, and sometimes you don’t get the right looks, and sometimes we just aren’t executing. We all have our hand in all of this, so it’s just a little bit of everything. It’s frustrating.”

This can partially be attributed to a lack of detail throughout the entire offense — more on that later — but generally speaking, the absence of Ragnow was the critical factor in Detroit’s shortcomings. He retired after the draft and most prime free-agent windows, when other teams had already settled their rosters, which forced the Lions to play a past-his-prime Graham Glasgow at the position.

If the Lions want to take a legitimate swing at solving these problems for 2026, general manager Brad Holmes will have to get aggressive in luring in a veteran center to take over the role. Before Detroit’s season finale at Chicago, Campbell was asked how critical it is to get the run game back on track next season: “It’s everything,” he said. “It’s everything.”

Setting aside the on-field results of last season, there’s even more urgency this upcoming offseason: Glasgow, and potentially reliable left tackle Taylor Decker, seem to be inching toward retirement.

It’s always possible that Holmes seeks a solution through the draft, and the Lions should absolutely exhaust those options. But given their insistent stance against drafting for need, it doesn’t seem likely that’s a position they’ll put themselves in. Several interesting options are set to become free agents this offseason, such as Baltimore’s Tyler Linderbaum and Buffalo’s Connor McGovern. But if the Lions can’t reel in one of the big fish — it seems unlikely that either player will be allowed to walk to free agency — Holmes will have to look at the trade market.

Given how open Decker has been about his potential retirement, I don’t think the Lions will be unprepared to attack his departure. But they don’t currently have anybody on the roster that you’d feel comfortable with tabbing as a starter going into the offseason — former fourth-round pick Giovanni Manu has not shown enough to be in that conversation yet — so they’ll probably have to make a significant effort to bring in a veteran there, as well.

No matter what happens with the veteran acquisition process, the Lions will have to begin restocking the offensive line cupboard with higher-floor pieces than they currently have on the roster. Tate Ratledge and right tackle Penei Sewell are the only linemen to be picked by Holmes before Day 3 of the draft.

Of course, player acquisition is never easy. But Holmes has mostly done a good job of bringing in the right veterans to supplement his roster over the years, and solving that problem this offseason is still a fairly realistic outcome.

Refresh the defense

The Lions’ defense completely fell apart at the hands of explosive plays down the final stretch of the season. Injuries to the Lions’ secondary didn’t help, especially when one of those players (Kerby Joseph) is one of the most feared middle-field coverage defenders in the league, and the other (Brian Branch) is a Swiss Army Knife whose location must be identified before every play. Detroit has allowed 56 pass plays of 20-plus yards this season, fourth-most in the league entering Week 18.

That said, the Lions actually got decent play from reserves such as Thomas Harper and Avonte Maddox — plus a healthy front seven — so not all the blame falls on attrition.

Of the 11 highest-paid pending free agents on the Lions’ roster, 10 of them are defensive players, and six of them play on the defensive line. Three of those defensive linemen — Josh Paschal, Marcus Davenport and Levi Onwuzurike — were injury-prone gambles that didn’t work out.

Though defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said he “doesn’t see drastic change” coming to the scheme, the impending turnover should help the Lions reimagine how they want this to look.

And no matter what the sack numbers say, the Lions need help affecting the quarterback. Detroit has the fifth-slowest time to pressure (2.86 seconds) in the NFL, and it was painfully obvious as one quarterback after another — a group that includes Giants third-stringer Jameis Winston — tore up the Lions’ defense.

It’s expected that Tyleik Williams and Alim McNeill will be the starting defensive tackles next season, meaning the signings there will largely be for depth. The Lions would surely like to bring back edge defender Al-Quadin Muhammad, who has 11 sacks, but he might’ve priced himself out of a return, especially considering that Detroit did not trust him against the run. There will still be a need for a starting defensive end to play opposite Aidan Hutchinson, which could be solved via a strong draft class at that position.

In the secondary, Detroit’s biggest offseason hurdle will be seeing through the cloudy injury statuses that dim the group’s future. Branch’s Achilles injury could cost him significant time next season, and Joseph couldn’t deliver a positive update on the status of his knee injury when asked earlier this season, saying, “You don’t fix it. Just keep the faith.”

The Lions invested heavily in cornerback D.J. Reed last offseason (three years, $48 million) and likely won’t be making any major moves with him, after he appeared to be limited by his hamstring injury after coming off of injured reserve. Their other starting cornerback, Terrion Arnold, ended the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, but he showed positive strides before being placed on the shelf.

In an ideal world, former second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw could take over the starting nickel cornerback job next season, allowing Detroit to shed some salary by letting Amik Robertson walk in free agency. But with Rakestraw unable to stay healthy for the second year in a row and Branch’s outlook uncertain, Detroit will probably look into bringing Robertson back to compete for the starting nickel job.

All of this is to say that the Lions’ best chance at fixing the defense starts up front, where they’ll have ample opportunity to reshape what this team looks like.

Find a new offensive play caller

While both of the Lions’ new coordinators struggled at various points this season, it seems likely that Sheppard’s job is safer than Morton’s. Sheppard’s personnel and scheme was inherited, and Campbell has invested a lot into his development as a coach. Plus, as a more offensive-minded coach, Campbell could be slower to make sweeping changes on the defensive side of the ball. And then there’s the tangible act of Morton actually having play-calling duties taken away from him at the season’s midway point.

Campbell said the primary reason for taking over play-calling was that Morton wasn’t able to bring his vision to life, but there was a Johnson press conference answer that went viral this week and was a good reminder of what else Detroit was missing offensively: Accountability. Asked about a red-zone sequence gone wrong, Johnson immediately took responsibility for how things ended.

“That field-goal drive, once we got in the red zone, I wasn’t very happy with how I called that,” Johnson said, putting the failure squarely on his own shoulders.

This was something Morton never did. Now, there were probably plenty of times where something that went wrong was actually the fault of the players and their execution. But the fact that the offensive coordinator is constantly pointing that out publicly instead of offering any sort of self-reflection probably didn’t sit well with players who’ve played in prolific offenses over the last few years.

Not to mention, a lack of thoughtfulness regarding the problems probably made it difficult to actually solve them. If and when the Lions move on from Morton, the next candidate should have two main qualities: Accountability and attention to detail.

Until the coaching carousel starts to spin next week, we won’t have much clarity on the options for a potential Morton replacement. Campbell essentially has two options for how he’ll proceed: He can either try to find another play-calling coordinator so that he can continue to focus on the bigger-picture in-game duties, or lean into being a play-calling head coach and supplement his staff to make up for the game management aspects.

Judging by how reluctant he’s been to do the play-calling, it seems like a safe bet that Campbell will try to bring in another play-caller. But on the flip side, two of Campbell’s three offensive-coordinator hires have been legitimate disasters, so not only is there a concern that he’ll get the next hire right, but there’s also the worry that any quality hire will eventually be poached as a head coach, starting the process over again. Becoming a play-calling head coach could give Detroit the best chance at long-term stability.

CHICAGO — If this is it for Dan Skipper, he wouldn’t change a thing.

Skipper, who has spent the better part of his nine-year career with the Detroit Lions, is unsure of his future beyond Sunday’s victory over the Chicago Bears. Skipper, with tears in his eyes, told reporters in the locker room at Soldier Field that he’s dealing with issues related to his lower back “that might push me out.”

Asked if the decision regarding retirement will be his or instead left up to the doctors he plans to soon meet with, Skipper, 31, said “it’s a little bit of both.” The 6-foot-9 offensive tackle added: “You start getting some pretty intense surgeries — I’m old, tall. So, we’ll see what happens.”

A fan favorite as Detroit’s swing tackle and a key piece in the team’s jumbo package, Skipper has carved out a role for himself with the Lions. He was at the heart of a controversial ruling against the Dallas Cowboys two years ago, when officials ruled he reported eligible, making teammate Taylor Decker, who caught what first appeared to be the go-ahead 2-point attempt with less than 30 seconds remaining, an ineligible receiver.

Skipper’s standing as a folk hero has only grown since. Since that moment in Dallas, fans at Ford Field have cheered for Skipper every time he checks in and the referee announces he’s reported as an eligible receiver. Skipper and his teammates often have to wave their arms up and down, reminding the crowd to be quiet while quarterback Jared Goff is relaying play calls in the huddle.

“Finding a way to just stick around and stick in and finding a home and (having) guys that appreciate you, a place to take you in. It’s a special place,” Skipper said of his career, reflecting on his time in Detroit. “It’ll always hold a place in our heart. We had a kid born here. My boys know the damn fight song.”

Skipper said there were moments he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to physically make it through this season, and that he owes his availability to Detroit’s medical team: “I’ve just never had a ‘quit’ bone in me. I don’t know, maybe that would’ve saved me at some point,” Skipper said. “You just find a way to play through it for the guys next to you, for your family, for everyone else. You just give it everything you’ve got each week.

“Some weeks are all right, and some weeks you can’t f—— move. It just felt like, as it went on, you start not being able to move and it’s frustrating and it’s hard. You’re like, man, stuff that you have been able to do for a long time, you can’t anymore. It sucks. But it’s just part of the aging process of being here and being hurt and everything else. I … owe a lot of it to the training staff.”

An undrafted free agent in 2017 who initially signed with the Cowboys out of Arkansas, Skipper began his first stint with the Lions in September 2017. He’d go on to make pit stops with various teams — the Denver Broncos (2018), New England Patriots (2018-19) and Houston Texans (2019) — before returning to the Lions for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Skipper was briefly with the Las Vegas Raiders (2021) and Indianapolis Colts (2023) over the next five years, but each of his 16 career starts (all since 2022) have come with Detroit, where he’s been since 2023.

The Lions (9-8) capped their season by walking off the Bears, as Jake Bates connected on a 42-yard field goal as time expired, with Skipper blocking on the play. Detroit missed the playoffs after beginning the season with Super Bowl aspirations, but Sunday’s result in Chicago secured the Lions their fourth consecutive campaign above .500, something that hadn’t been done in more than 50 years.

Skipper has 68 appearances in his career. All but three of those have come with the Lions.

“If this is it,” Skipper said, “no regrets.”

Who do the Detroit Lions play in 2026?

With the Minnesota Vikings beating the Green Bay Packers on Sunday — a result that means Detroit will finish last in the NFC North — we now know the full answer to that question.

The Lions are set to play nine games at home and eight on the road next season, though one of those home contests will likely be played overseas; Detroit has been told its going to play internationally, but the location and opponent has not been announced.

Six of the Lions’ 2026 games will come against NFC North rivals, of course. They’ll also play the NFC South and AFC East. Finishing last in the NFC North in 2025 secured the Lions a fourth-place schedule, meaning their remaining three opponents in 2026 are the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals. Had the Lions finished third, their remaining opponents would’ve been the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders and one of the San Francisco 49ers or Los Angeles Rams.

Nine of Detroit’s upcoming 14 opponents in 2026 finished this season with a record under .500. For comparison, four of Detroit’s foes in 2025 finished 2024 with a record under .500.

Lions’ 2026 opponents

Home: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans

Away: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins

CHICAGO — Richard Silva grades the Detroit Lions in their 19-16 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Quarterback

Jared Goff had a stellar first half, completing 19 of his 28 attempts for 205 yards and a touchdown. The Lions leaned on their passing attack early — only 10 of Detroit’s 39 plays in the first half were rushes — and Goff rose to the occasion, orchestrating drives of 35, 55, 71 and 76 yards before intermission, and the 35-yarder put the Lions in position to score at the end of the second quarter. Goff was not as prolific in the second half, and he made a critical mistake when he tried to shove a pass into tight coverage that was picked off by safety Kevin Byard. Grade: B

Running backs

It wasn’t a dominating outing for either Jahmyr Gibbs or David Montgomery, but the duo combined for an above-average rate of 4.5 yards per carry, and it tacked on 46 yards in the receiving game. Gibbs found the end zone on a Texas route, beating linebacker T.J. Edwards for a 15-yard touchdown. Montgomery was helpful on Detroit’s second possession of the third quarter, accounting for 32 yards on a drive that resulted in the Lions taking their largest lead. Grade: B-

Wide receivers/tight ends

This game, despite the absence of stakes, certainly seemed to mean something to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who finished with 139 yards on 11 catches. St. Brown benefitted from a large target share (35.7% of Goff’s attempts went in St. Brown’s direction), but he was also fairly explosive, notching seven receptions of 10 or more yards, including a 30-yarder to put Gibbs in position to score two plays later. Jameson Williams was solid with the ball in his hands (46 of his 74 yards came after the catch), and Kalif Raymond and Isaac TeSlaa chipped in a combined 70 yards. Grade: A

Offensive line

There were certainly negative moments — Goff’s first sack was due to subpar protection from Christian Mahogany and Chris Hubbard, and Graham Glasgow was beaten by defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. on the quarterback’s second — but the offensive line largely held up well, especially without Penei Sewell. Hubbard got the start in Sewell’s place at right tackle, and he was able to get out in space effectively on a couple outside runs, as well as on a screen pass to Williams that went for 12 yards. The unit was flagged once, and the call (a holding penalty on Tate Ratledge) was questionable. Grade: B-

Defensive line

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was only sacked once and wasn’t consistently moved off his spot, though the general lack of pressure didn’t sting the Lions until the fourth quarter. That was partly due to the opponent’s own issues — drops and misfires were issues for Chicago — but also because of Detroit’s run defense; running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 54 yards on 16 rushes. The Lions’ offense deserves a hat tip for limiting Swift and Monangai, as the visitors at Soldier Field dominated time of possession, recording a 10:30 advantage. Aidan Hutchinson, who was impactful as a run defender, extended his career-high sack total (14.5). Grade: B

Linebackers

Linebackers looked to be at fault on a couple notable plays, including Williams’ touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland that tied the score with fewer than six minutes remaining. The rookie got lost in coverage, and either Derrick Barnes or Malcolm Rodriguez didn’t pick him up. Barnes had a massive play earlier in the game (a fourth-down pass breakup against Loveland), but he was also run at on multiple occasions, and he struggled to hold the edge. The Lions put Rodriguez in a difficult position when they left him as the only defender in coverage over the middle of the field on a late third-and-long, but he was slow to react to Loveland, who crossed his face for the first down. Grade: D

Secondary

Avonte Maddox snatched his first interception in more than three years, boxing out receiver D.J. Moore on a deep ball launched to the opposite side of the field. That was before the fourth quarter, when Williams heated up and completed nine of his 13 throws for 123 yards and two touchdowns, as well as posting a couple of 2-point conversions. Chicago’s first touchdown was against zone coverage, so it’s difficult to discern who was directly at fault. Amik Roberston was the closest defender, but it appeared Maddox might have been out of position. Grade: B-

Special teams

Jake Bates made his first two field goals (from 30 and 34 yards) before missing a 53-yarder as time expired in the first half. He redeemed himself at the buzzer, connecting on a 42-yarder for the win. Raymond had a fine showing as a punt returner (an average of 11 yards on three tries), and punter Jack Fox averaged 46.5 yards on his two attempts. Grade: A

Coaching

How the Lions handled their second-to-last drive was baffling, and that’s being polite. Following an encroachment penalty on the Bears that gave the Lions a fresh set of downs, Detroit proceeded to pass the ball three consecutive times. On first down, an incompletion stopped the clock. On second down, Goff was flagged for intentional grounding. On third down, he tossed an interception. The Lions were running the ball well, and there was no reason to go away from it at that point. It didn’t end up mattering, but the sequence was quite questionable. Grade: C

ALLEN PARK — What a difference four months can make.

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears have trended in opposite directions since the former blew out the latter, 52-21, in a September matchup. The Lions (8-8) are 7-7 since that meeting, and they’ll miss the playoffs for the first time since 2022. The Bears (11-5) and first-year coach Ben Johnson, meanwhile, are 11-3, and they’ve already clinched the NFC North.

“I’m sure Ben wants to beat our ass,” Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said of his former offensive coordinator. “He would want to do that even if they won the first game; it’s just how he is. That’s probably why he’s going to have success, be a successful coach. That being said, we want to do everything we can to beat them. I’m happy for Ben’s success, I really am. But when we play, it doesn’t matter. We want to beat their ass, they want to beat at our ass. If there’s bad blood from the first one, that’s fine. That’s football, it is what it is.”

Johnson has led the Bears to their first division title since 2018. With a triumph over the Lions at Solider Field on Sunday, he’ll tie for the franchise’s second-most wins since 2006, when it won 13 games under former coach Lovie Smith before losing Super Bowl XLI to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Bears are a much different team since falling to the Lions in Week 2, adding or shuffling pieces throughout the season. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who spent one season with Detroit in 2023, is a prime example. The defensive back signed with the Bears in October and has played at least 40 snaps in every game since. Gardner-Johnson has started six games for Chicago, notching three sacks and two interceptions to go along with 45 total tackles and four pass deflections.

But when taking a big-picture look at how the Bears have changed, they’re simply more refined in what they do, especially on the side of the ball in which Johnson specializes. Caleb Williams is on pace to set the franchise’s single-season record for passing yards, and running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai have formed a tandem that’s up there with any duo in the NFL.

Then there’s rookie Colston Loveland, who has 506 receiving yards since Week 9. That’s more than all but three tight ends, with Arizona’s Trey McBride (753), San Francisco’s George Kittle (531) and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts (526) being the exceptions.

“Offensively, they’re more polished,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Ben’s done a good job. The system is in and these little things that were there (as problems in) game two, game one, they’ve begun to go away. They’ve got a run game, they’ve found a run game. … Caleb’s playing really well, O-line’s playing really well. … Swift’s running well, (Monangai), he’s a downhill, hard runner, too. … They’re playing at a high level. They’re doing things well. Much more polished.”

Johnson isn’t running the same exact plays in Chicago that he did for three seasons in Detroit, though there are clear similarities. The Bears are extremely efficient in their rushing attack, which sets up play action. Williams has thrown 178 passes off a play-fake this season, second-most in the NFL. For comparison, Williams had 94 of those attempts (16th) as a rookie in 2024. Lions quarterback Jared Goff led the league in play-action passes last season. He’s fifth this year, with 149 tries.

But what makes Johnson special is his ability to build his offense around his personnel: “Ben’s a great coach,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said. “He sees what he has, and he plays to their strengths.”

Defensively, limiting mistakes has been an emphasis for the Lions in their preparation. That’s key against any team, but it’s particularly important versus the Bears, who lead the NFL with 32 total takeaways, including 22 interceptions and 10 recovered fumbles. Veteran safety Kevin Byard has a league-best six interceptions. Cornerback Nahshon Wright has five, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has four.

At home, the Bears are allowing 17.4 points per game. On the road, that average shoots up to 30.4.

“I think the biggest thing that we touched on, as a team, is turnovers come in bunches,” Decker said. “If the offense is giving them opportunities to get their hands on the ball, they’re making those plays. … They fly around, they play with energy. I would say the biggest thing (that’s changed since Week 2) is they play more nickel, and then they just gained confidence. You see it on film, they’re just more confident in the way they play.”

ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions are taking a wait-and-see approach to a knee injury suffered by receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in Sunday’s 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

St. Brown, who was listed Monday as a non-participant on the team’s estimated practice report, was not known to have an injury as Sunday’s game ended. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he’s unsure if the injury is serious.

“We’ll know more a little bit later. This is just something that just popped up when he came in today, so hopeful this is just some type of irritation from the game,” Campbell said Monday. “That’s what I’m hoping. But I’ll know more tonight.”

St. Brown caught four passes for 54 yards in Detroit’s loss to Pittsburgh and was in the game until the very end. He caught a would-be go-ahead touchdown pass that was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on Isaac TeSlaa, then caught a pass on the final play of the game, which he lateraled to Jared Goff for a would-be score as time expired. St. Brown was called for offensive pass interference on his route, and the game ended quickly after officials sorted it out.

St. Brown has tallied 98 catches for 1,194 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

Practice report

The Lions provided an estimated practice report on the first day of this week’s practices before Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

St. Brown, defensive back Avonte Maddox (back) and offensive tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder) were all non-participants.

The Lions had nine players limited: offensive linemen Trystan Colon (wrist), Graham Glasgow (knee), Christian Mahogany (fibula) and Giovanni Manu (knee); defensive linemen Marcus Davenport (shoulder), Alim McNeill (abdomen) and Al-Quadin Muhammad (knee); wide receiver Tom Kennedy (abdomen) and cornerback Amik Robertson (hand).

DETROIT — Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard stood at the podium last Thursday and, for the umpteenth time this season, tried to distort reality.

The question was about how the Los Angeles Rams’ rushing offense ran buck wild on the Lions in a loss on Dec. 14. And, as he’s done at many points throughout this disappointing campaign, Sheppard pointed out that the Lions’ overall performance wouldn’t have been that bad if you take out all of the biggest plays that went against them.

“You can’t play this game of taking plays away, but nobody — and I can stand on the table behind this — nobody has just lined up and ran the ball down our throats,” Sheppard said.

Then, with the league’s 28th-ranked rushing offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers ran the ball down the Lions’ throats in Sunday’s 29-24 loss. It was the Steelers’ most rushing yards (230) since 2016 and the most allowed by the Lions since 2022. In the home finale. With the season on the line.

The Lions (8-7) are now on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention with two games remaining — one Detroit loss or one Green Bay Packers win will officially end it. But whether they make the postseason does not change the notion that failure to confront reality has been the one ugly wart on this team’s face all season, and the primary reason why it’s fair to doubt the strength of the culture that has built this team.

After three and four seasons with coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, respectively, this year was always going to present its challenges. But after failing to keep the ship aimed in the right direction, this upcoming offseason feels even more critical.

Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to go with guys he trusted during a critical offseason, hiring an in-house, first-time defensive coordinator in Sheppard and hiring a second-time offensive coordinator in John Morton. Morton had his play-calling duties stripped in Week 10, and Sheppard’s defense has been one of the league’s worst over the last month.

Morton passed the buck amid struggles, while Sheppard downplayed concerns about his unit until they eventually became so glaring that it forced the Lions to drive right off the road.

In a long line of concerning trends that have emerged over the last year, chief among them is the coaching staff’s willingness to make excuses or bend reality to make things seem different from what they truly are, and it started in Week 1. In Sheppard’s opening statement after the Green Bay game, he said that if you took out a 48-yard completion and a 17-yard touchdown pass on back-to-back plays, the Lions’ performance was actually quite good.

“I’m not a math major but I believe that’s 65 yards. You take that off of (185), you’re looking at 120 yards passing on the day,” Sheppard said.

And in that specific context, maybe he wasn’t entirely wrong. The Lions’ defense held running back Josh Jacobs to 3.5 yards per carry, an impressive mark, and kept quarterback Jordan Love under 200 passing yards. But as the Lions’ defense started to show genuinely concerning trends down the stretch, this messaging never wavered.

Sheppard will tell you he won’t make excuses. He’ll tell you things are being addressed. But he’ll also, with a high degree of regularity, tell you that the biggest concerns stemming from a game are overblown, and that the stats make the performance look worse than it actually was. And now, over the last five games, the Lions are allowing 458.6 yards per game. For context, the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed the most yards per game this season at 402.8.

There’s no way to contort this one: Over the most important stretch of the season, the Lions’ defense has been the worst in the league.

And sure, they’ve got injuries. The team didn’t have All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph (knee) for more than half the season, just lost Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch (Achilles) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (shoulder) for the year, and cornerback D.J. Reed hasn’t looked the same since coming back from his hamstring injury.

As the Lions withstood countless defensive injuries en route to a 15-2 record last season, it was easy to understand why. They didn’t make excuses. If anything, it was a mere extension of the gritty mentality that had come to define the Lions’ identity under Campbell. They seemed to thrive on finding a way.

But outside of Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal, neither of whom suited up this season, this front seven is completely healthy. There is absolutely no way to square how a defense with this much talent has so consistently come up short in the biggest moments.

Inherited issue

Now, if I can momentarily come to Sheppard’s defense: This is a defense that he inherited, and over the four years that Glenn was in charge, there were very few stretches where the Lions’ defense actually looked much better than what we’ve seen from this year’s unit. Sheppard is running the scheme Campbell wants him to, which Glenn ran before him, with the players already in place before Sheppard was promoted this past offseason.

I’ll actually tip my cap to Sheppard for being a little more flexible than Glenn on a week-to-week level. With their passing defense in shambles, Sheppard called zone coverage on a season-high 82.2% of passing plays. It just didn’t produce a winning level of defense. And really, Sheppard is just one of many culprits; the flavor of the week after a bold proclamation blew up in his face.

Campbell hasn’t made excuses for the team’s play, but his blind optimism that everything would work itself out, that all of the adversity they faced in the back half of the season would only prepare them for a Super Bowl run, that he could hire a longtime coach with very little actual play-calling experience and continue operating the best offense in the league, hurt his team.

I see the vision, even in hindsight, with Morton. If all had gone well, they would’ve had a play-calling offensive coordinator for potentially years to come. I can buy the argument that it’s a better option than continuing to develop new, young play-callers who will inevitably leave for better opportunities.

But it ultimately blew up in Detroit’s face. Morton couldn’t hack it, and by Week 10, when he’d lost his play-calling duties, he’d pointed the finger more times than one can count. Over and over, Morton would say everything with the scheme was fine; players simply needed to win their one-on-ones.

Here’s the third sentence of Morton’s opening statement after Week 1, when the Lions sputtered their way to six points before a miraculous one-handed touchdown catch by Isaac TeSlaa tightened the score in a 27-13 loss: “The bottom line is, this is about execution and the details of everything.”

Three questions in, he was asked if there’s anything that can be done to help attention to detail for an offensive line with two first-time starters and a 33-year-old center who was changing positions for the third straight season.

“Look, we’re running plays that these guys have done,” Morton said at the time. “Now, there’s some new guys in there, but the bottom line is, you’ve got to go execute and we didn’t do that every single play. We just didn’t.”

Following a shocking 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings — which, if won, would have put the Lions just a half-game out of the playoffs in the present day — he was asked what the worst part was of watching the Minnesota film.

Jahmyr Gibbs was dominated in pass protection down-in, down-out, by the Vikings’ “cross-dog blitz,” as the Vikings’ front seven made life hell for the Lions’ offense that also couldn’t get the run game going. Gibbs was held to 25 rushing yards on nine carries.

Here’s Morton on the run game: “I mean we had things for it, we had chances. Again, I’m going back, ‘Oh, one guy didn’t do that. Nope, we didn’t get it and it could’ve been big.’ I mean you guys watch the game and when you watch it in detail and everything, ‘Man, if he would’ve got that. Oh, if we would’ve done this.’ That’s the biggest thing.

“We had a good scheme.”

I’m in the camp that Campbell’s play-calling helped the offense, even as they’ve continued to put up subpar rushing performances in the second half of the season, but it’s clear he didn’t have the structure in place to handle the game-management aspects of his job.

Against the Rams last week, Campbell wasted one of his challenges on a 1-yard difference in ball placement on a play where L.A. had blown past the first-down marker. Not only was he not allowed to challenge the play, costing him one of his two challenges and a timeout, but even if it had been a challengeable play, I can’t wrap my head around why he’d take such a risk for a measly yard.

These little missteps have occurred on a seemingly weekly basis, and you can point to several of them as major inflection points in losses.

Against Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Lions were forced to burn one of their second-half timeouts when they only had 10 players on the field before a fourth-and-2. That timeout would’ve come in handy on the final drive, when the Lions were operating with just one timeout while trying to punch in the go-ahead score.

In a pivotal Thanksgiving clash with Green Bay, the Lions had 10 players on the field before Green Bay’s first third-down attempt of the game, as they were gashed for an explosive run. Then, later in that contest, the Lions’ defense was flagged in the red zone for having 12 players on the field.

Ultimately, Campbell is the captain of this ship and is responsible for the lack of attention to detail on both sides of the ball. And the Lions’ attention to detail has plainly been terrible.

Not enough contributors

Lastly, we have Lions general manager Brad Holmes. With Arnold’s season-ending injury, the Lions are getting zero offensive or defensive contributions from any 2024 draft pick besides left guard Christian Mahogany, who was the offensive line’s lowest-graded run and pass blocker, per PFF, in his return to action on Sunday.

Of the 21 players drafted since 2023, seven of them are giving the team regular offensive or defensive contributions. Four of those players are rookies, and one of those rookies is Miles Frazier, who’s a reserve player in a unique guard rotation.

Sure, injuries heavily impact these numbers. But I can’t help but notice that for a guy who preaches depth, Holmes has no problem giving up bites at the apple to get his guys. Now, as the Lions suddenly have long-term concerns at multiple positions, the Lions are short a third-round pick after trading three of them to move up for TeSlaa, and have gotten extremely little from their most recent classes.

The Packers have also dealt with injuries to players from recent draft classes, including their own third-year tight end, Tucker Kraft, who’s been lost for the season with an ACL. But they drafted 24 players in 2023 and 2024 alone, and as some have fallen by the wayside due to injury, plenty more have stepped up. Outside of the injuries, Green Bay is getting regular contributions from more than a dozen players from those classes alone.

Culture crumbling

It should be noted that everything the Lions achieved in 2023 and 2024 was because of Campbell and Holmes. Yet, the culture they’ve built seems to be falling apart at the seams as the Lions’ season goes with it.

The occasional early playoff exit is certainly understandable, if not expected. This is a league built on parity. But a completely lost season in which most of your best players are in the prime of their careers is a legitimate travesty when you consider how talented this roster is.

Again, the Lions could very well shock the world and make the playoffs. But the simple fact of the matter is that they have a .400 winning percentage over their last 10 games. Every move they’ve made has been to become a sustainable contender, but somewhere in that pursuit, they forgot to be a contender in the here and now.

And yeah, you could talk about the injuries, or the calls that have gone against Detroit in its losses, or the tough schedule and division, but those would be excuses.

Right now, the Lions — from the top down — need a heavy dose of honesty and reflection.

DETROIT — A season-altering loss by the Detroit Lions ended in controversy.

The Lions appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown twice in the final 25 seconds of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers but saw both scores nullified by offensive pass interference penalties, including one on fourth down as time expired that featured a lateral to Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Detroit’s furious comeback attempt, which twice saw them close the deficit in a two-score game, came up just short in a 29-24 loss. With 25 seconds left in the game, Goff rolled right and completed an easy touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was deemed by officials to have gotten open because of a pick run by wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.

“The reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch,” referee Carl Cheffers said in a PFWA pool report.

Goff called the offensive pass interference penalty on TeSlaa “a bad call.”

“The one where Saint caught it and we thought it was a touchdown, that’s, in my opinion, a bad call,” Goff said. “But listen, man. [The officials] have a tough job and they make calls that go our way all the time, but that one in particular, [TeSlaa] should not hang his head about.”

Then, on fourth-and-goal from the 9 with 8 seconds left, Goff completed a pass to St. Brown, who pitched the ball to Goff right before going to the ground. Goff then leaped into the end zone for a score, but a penalty flag unceremoniously ended the party.

After several minutes of conversation, officials said that the call on the field was a touchdown, but it was nullified by a penalty for offensive pass interference. Since time had expired, the Lions did not have the opportunity to run another play, thus ending the game — and potentially, the season.

“The official who called the foul said that the receiver created separation that gave him an advantage in catching the pass. So, he called pass interference,” Cheffers said. Asked why the on-field conversation took so long, Cheffers added, “It was a pretty complex play.”

“We had the original player who had the ball, lose possession of the ball. So, we had to decide if that was a fumble or a backwards pass because of course we have restrictions on the recovery of a fumble inside of two minutes,” Cheffers said. “We ruled that it was a backward pass, so the recovering player was able to advance it and that recovering player advanced it for a touchdown. We had to rule on that and then because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown.

“Because it is an offensive foul, we do not extend the half. Therefore, there is no score and there is no replay of the down. That’s the way the rule is written.”

St. Brown, several other Lions players, and head coach Dan Campbell all said that the game came down to more than one or two plays.

“I don’t even want to get into it, because it’s not gonna change anything. We still lost,” Campbell said.

St. brown added, “The call, it is what it is. Those are the rules, can’t change them. It never comes down to one play. It’s never just because of that play. There was plenty of plays throughout that game that we could’ve made. We had calls go our way, too, throughout that last drive, so it goes both ways. We just have to execute better. We have a job to do, the refs have a job to do. We’ve just got to do better.”

Regarding the way Detroit lost, Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker said, “Ultimately, yeah, it sucks.”

“There’s no sugarcoating it,” Decker said. “We had so many opportunities earlier in the game. Games come down to two-minute drives in the league, but we put ourselves in that position. We did not play well enough, but we still had a chance to win. That’s the frustrating thing, is that we put ourselves in that position and it didn’t have to be that way.”

As St. Brown pointed out, the Lions benefitted from a fourth-down defensive pass interference call against the Steelers earlier in the drive.

“I think we had a PI on them. Jamo did, going down that drive. We got a call, they got a call. If we don’t get that PI on Jamo, that drive is over. So, some might say that,” St. Brown said. “At the end of the day, like I said, the refs have a job to do and they’re trying their best to do it. We have a job to do out there as players and go make plays. Like I said, we didn’t make enough plays today.”

Still, the shock in Detroit’s locker room was clear. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who had two sacks, said that he’s “never seen two offensive [pass interference calls] to lose a game like that.”

“I don’t know. I’m sure there will be a discussion between the NFL (about) this game to validate or deny the calls,” Hutchinson continued. “It sucks cause there’s no changing it. I can bitch here all I want about the call, but the fact is, it’s the result.”

The Lions had several paths to the playoffs entering Sunday, but following their loss to Pittsburgh, they now have just one: Detroit needs to win its last two games at Minnesota and Chicago and have Green Bay lose its last two games against Baltimore and Minnesota.

Takeaways from disastrous defensive effort that sinks Lions in 29-24 loss to Steelers

 

Last-play TD nullified; loss to Steelers puts staggering Lions on thinnest ice for making playoffs

 

Photo gallery from Lions hosting the Steelers at Ford Field

 

Lions grades: Must-win game against Steelers was lost in the trenches

DETROIT — Two weeks ago, the Detroit Lions controlled their own destiny to the postseason.

After a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, they needed some help.

Now? Their playoff odds are all but dashed.

The Lions (8-7) were upset by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, a devastating result in a season that begin with Super Bowl aspirations. Technically, Detroit is still in the hunt. But it’ll need to win its next two games — at the Minnesota Vikings (Week 17) and Chicago Bears (Week 18) — and the Green Packers will have to drop their final two contests, at home versus the Baltimore Ravens (Week 17) and on the road at the Vikings (Week 18).

Numbers vary depending on the service you use, but The Athletic’s 2025 NFL Playoff Simulator gives the Lions a 6% chance to secure one of the NFC’s top seven seeds. That number rises to 24% if Detroit wins its next two outings. The Lions are mathematically eliminated from winning the division.

“I don’t know what all of this is or isn’t. I know we’ve got two left, and I just want to see us finish,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the Lions’ diminishing odds. “I just want to finish, (play) our style of football with two to go, man. Try to play four straight quarters of good football. Clean football. Efficient football. That’s what I want to do.”

The Lions haven’t won consecutive games since Weeks 4 and 5, when they topped the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively. They were 4-1 after five weeks, but bounced back and forth between wins and losses since then before dropping their second straight on Sunday. It’s the first time in more than three years the Lions have lost two contests in a row within the same season.

In 2024, the only question about the Lions was whether they’d secure the conference’s No. 1 overall seed. In 2023, it was whether they’d win the division. This is territory the team hasn’t been in since 2022.

“We haven’t had that feeling,” quarterback Jared Goff said, when asked how it feels to be on the outside looking in and having to rely on other teams for help. “It’s creeping in on us now. We’ve got to find a way. I think it goes back to what Dan’s message was: Are we who we say we are type of thing? … Are we still going to be what we say we are and show up to work and do the whole thing on a short week?”

Asked to further explain Campbell’s message, Goff said the Lions are going to, “Find out who we are character-wise. Find out what we are made of. We know the percentages and whatnot. We know we are not eliminated, but we need some things to go our way. Find out who we are, see if we can win these last two, and see if we can get in.

“I know we will be dangerous if we can. That’s just the hard part.”

Takeaways from disastrous defensive effort that sinks Lions in 29-24 loss to Steelers

Photo gallery from Lions hosting the Steelers at Ford Field

Last-play TD nullified; loss to Steelers puts staggering Lions on thinnest ice for making playoffs

Lions grades: Must-win game against Steelers was lost in the trenches

DETROIT — Richard Silva grades the Detroit Lions in their 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Quarterback

Jared Goff was clearly uncomfortable behind some shoddy protection, being pressured on more than 40% of his dropbacks. The QB didn’t throw an interception, but four times he put the ball in harm’s way, and four times he got away with it. Goff finished with 34 completions on 54 pass attempts for 364 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn’t a difference-maker, nor was he the chief problem in a loss that neutralizes almost any remaining hope for a playoff spot. Grade: C+

Running backs

The offensive line bears the brunt of the responsibility for Detroit’s poor rushing offense, but you still would’ve liked to see more from Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery; the duo combined for 16 yards on 11 carries, good for an average of 1.5 yards. Remove a 17-yard rush by Montgomery in the first quarter, and the Lions, as a team, managed minus-2 yards the rest of the way. The only noise from Gibbs came through the air, as he caught 10 passes for 66 yards, including one 13-yard gain in which he used a nifty spin move to shake linebacker Patrick Queen, and a 4-yard touchdown with about four minutes remaining to give the Lions a chance late. Grade: D

Wide receivers/tight ends

Amon-Ra St. Brown made two critical mistakes, dropping a potential explosive gain over the middle before committing offensive pass interference on the game’s final play, negating what would’ve been a miraculous touchdown off a lateral to Goff. Four plays before St. Brown’s infraction, rookie Isaac TeSlaa also committed OPI, though this one was less obvious. Jameson Williams (70 yards) did solid work to lead the Lions, and TeSlaa scored his fifth career touchdown, hauling in a catch between two defenders. Kalif Raymond got into the end zone, as well. Tight ends Anthony Firkser (40 yards) and Shane Zylstra (20) had mild contributions, but it was better than what the Lions were getting from the position previously. Grade: B-

Offensive line

Graham Glasgow’s absence was most felt on Detroit’s first possession of the second half, when Michael Niese, filling in for a briefly injured Kingsley Eguakun, sent a low snap to Goff, who was then sacked for a safety by Kyle Dugger. Goff was sacked three times, and Christian Mahogany, in his first game back from a broken bone in his left leg, appeared responsible for two of them. More troubling for the offensive line was its inability to block for Gibbs and Montgomery; through their first three drives, the Lions had only one successful rush. Unblocked defenders on the backside of the play were a consistent problem. Grade: F

Defensive line

Aidan Hutchinson had a multi-sack performance for the first time since Week 4, but the Lions were gashed on the ground by Pittsburgh’s rushing attack, allowing running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell to combine for 193 yards on 23 tries. Two 45-yard scores were the result of poor pursuit lanes at the second and third level of the defense, but Detroit’s front (mainly on the edge) could do little to slow the Steelers. Grade: F

Linebackers

On Pittsburgh’s first 45-yard rushing touchdown (both were by Warren), Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes were cleared out of the way, and Jack Campbell, despite his best efforts to avoid his block, couldn’t get an angle on the running back. Anzalone was in coverage against Kenneth Gainwell on a play right before halftime that resulted in an improbable touchdown; Gainwell fought through defensive pass interference to score with two seconds remaining in the second quarter, tying the game at 10. Campbell recovered a fumble and was credited with at least four stops, according to live tracking data from Pro Football Focus, as well as two pass deflections. Grade: F

Secondary

Credit to Thomas Harper for forcing a fumble on enormous tight end Darnell Washington, but he struggled as a run defender, missing a tackle and appearing to crash down too hard on at least one of Warren’s touchdowns. The Lions weren’t devastated with explosive passing plays like they have been in recent weeks (apart from D.K. Metcalf beating Rock Ya-Sin for 20 yards on first-and-long), but Rodgers dinked and dunked the Steelers down the field, and he was efficient when it mattered most. The Steelers went 8-for-16 on third down, and each of those conversions came via a pass. That’s despite Pittsburgh’s average distance on those third downs being more than 7.3 yards. The secondary simply didn’t hold up on money downs. Grade: D

Special teams

The Lions were relatively unimpressive in the return game, starting three drives inside their own 30-yard line following a kickoff return, including one possession that began at the 14-yard line. The Steelers weren’t prolific in their returns, either, so it balanced out. Raymond had one solid punt return (13 yards) and kicker Jake Bates made his only field goal, knocking through an attempt from 36 yards out. Grade: C+

Coaching

Dan Campbell won a challenge in the third quarter, overturning Harper’s forced fumble that was initially ruled down by contact. The playcalling on offense felt less than ideal and at times predictable (a couple screens on third long stick out), but much of that had to do with Detroit’s struggles along the offensive line. As left tackle Taylor Decker said: “It gets to the point where, if you’re not getting positive yards on first or second down, what do you want the coordinator to do? What do you want Dan to do, as far as calling plays?” Defensively, coordinator Kelvin Sheppard pushed back this week on the idea that his unit was beaten soundly on the ground in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15. There’s absolutely no doubting it this time around. The Steelers averaged 8.5 yards on 27 rushes. Grade: F

Takeaways from disastrous defensive effort that sinks Lions in 29-24 loss to Steelers

 

Last-play TD nullified; loss to Steelers puts staggering Lions on thinnest ice for making playoffs

 

Photo gallery from Lions hosting the Steelers at Ford Field

Can the Lions still make the playoffs after loss to Steelers?

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions’ season isn’t all the way dead just yet.

But following a 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field on Sunday, the Lions’ only remaining path to the playoffs is a massive long shot: Detroit (8-7) would have to win its last two games against the Vikings and Bears, and Green Bay needs to lose its final two games against the Ravens and Vikings.

The Lions’ offense was an unmitigated disaster in the biggest game of the season, and the Lions’ defense couldn’t get a stop when the team needed it most. Detroit was gashed on the ground for 8.5 yards per carry and gave up three touchdowns of exactly 45 yards, including two 45-yard runs by Steelers running back Jaylen Warren.

The Steelers (9-6) tried to let the Lions back in it, as kicker Chris Boswell missed a 37-yard field goal in a 29-24 game to give Detroit the ball with 2:05 remaining.

Detroit marched down the field and reached the 1-yard line on a completion to Isaac TeSlaa, but multiple penalties backed Detroit up to first-and-goal from the 16.

On fourth-and-goal from the 9, with the season on the line, St. Brown caught a pass and lateraled it to Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who leaped into the end zone with no time on the clock. The pass interference call nullified the touchdown and ended the game.

Detroit’s old bogeyman, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, looked nothing like his former self, but he made every play that was required to win the game. That’s certainly more than can be said for Goff, who never looked comfortable playing behind first-time starting center Kingsley Eguakun and returning left guard Christian Mahogany.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 2 yards on seven carries and David Montgomery had 14 yards on four carries. The passing game wasn’t much better; Goff was sacked three times and had little time to throw, even when he managed to stay upright, with most of his 364 passing yards coming in the game’s final quarter.

Making matters even uglier was the fact that Pittsburgh was without two of its top sack-getters, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig.

Excluding a one-play drive to end the first half, four of the Lions’ possessions ended in a three-and-out, including their first two drives of the second half. Detroit’s offense held the ball for just 51 seconds during a tumultuous third quarter.

The Lions fell behind two scores, 22-10, on Warren’s first 45-yard touchdown run with 12:23 left in the game. Detroit responded with a 27-yard touchdown by Kalif Raymond that brought the game to within a score, but a few moments later, the Steelers put together a drive that was emblematic of the collapse by Kelvin Sheppard’s defense down the stretch.

After an illegal block pushed the Steelers to first-and-20 to start Detroit’s most important defensive series of the season, Rodgers immediately hit a 20-yard completion to DK Metcalf. One play after that, Warren ran wild again for a 45-yard score.

Detroit again got within a score, using a 4-yard receiving touchdown by Gibbs to make it 29-24 with 4:11 remaining. But on the very first play of Pittsburgh’s next possession, they picked up two first downs in as many plays, including a 20-yard end-around to tight end Jonnu Smith on the first play of the series.

After the Lions went three-and-out on their opening possession, Pittsburgh took the game’s first lead with 9:21 left in the first quarter as Boswell nailed a 59-yard field-goal attempt to put the Steelers up 3-0.

Detroit nearly took a lead with 2:07 left in the first quarter. The Lions gambled on fourth-and-goal from the 3, but Goff’s throw to St. Brown was broken up at the goal line, resulting in a turnover on downs.

The Lions got on the board and tied the game with 10:10 remaining in the second quarter. A promising drive was derailed by atrocious run blocking, as Alex Highsmith picked up his second tackle-for-loss when stopping Montgomery in Steelers territory. Detroit couldn’t recover and settled for a 36-yard field goal from Jake Bates to make it 3-3.

After both offenses were stuck in the mud for much of the first half, both teams scored their first touchdown in the final 1:55 of the second quarter.

Photo gallery from Lions hosting the Steelers at Ford Field

Isaac TeSlaa made a sensational effort to hang on to a pass through contact for his fifth touchdown of the season, a 20-yarder that put Detroit up 10-3.

But the Steelers answered right back on a drive in which they converted third downs of 10, 11 and 10 yards before Kenneth Gainwell made a miraculous catch while falling down to tie the game with 0:02 left in the second quarter. Gainwell, with Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone draped all over him, made the catch while laying on his side, got up, and ran the ball into the end zone for the score.

The Lions’ defense had a momentum-swinging play to begin the second half as Anzalone and safety Thomas Harper stripped Steelers tight end Darnell Washington at the 4-yard line. Washington was initially ruled down on the play, but after Lions coach Dan Campbell challenged the call, officials deemed that the ball came out and was clearly recovered by Lions linebacker Jack Campbell.

Takeaways from disastrous defensive effort that sinks Lions in 29-24 loss to Steelers

Only three plays later, however, Michael Niese — in for Eguakun — delivered a low snap to Goff, who Steelers safety Kyle Dugger immediately sacked for a safety that yielded the Steelers a 12-10 lead with 9:42 remaining in the third quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Steelers traveled 64 yards in 17 plays while bleeding 9:44 off the clock, adding a 23-yard field goal from Boswell to go up 15-10 with 14:58 left in the game. The Lions held the ball for just 51 seconds during the third quarter.

Warren bought some insurance for the Steelers with a 45-yard rushing touchdown to go up by two scores with 12:23 left in the game, which came in handy when the Lions converted on fourth-and-2 with a 27-yard passing touchdown to Raymond that made it 22-17 with 8:39 left in the game.

The Detroit Lions faced an old foe at Ford Field in a must-win Week 16 NFL contest.

Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers made many weekends miserable for supporters, back when he ruled the NFC North playing for the Green Bay Packers.

Now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rodgers does not have the same caliber of weapons, but has led the AFC North squad to eight victories, prior to another crucial matchup against the Lions.

“I think, look, there’s a lot of short passing, ball out type of throws,” Dan Campbell said in a pregame interview with Dan Miller. “He’s been really efficient that way. But I know this, he’s finding the open receivers, he’s progressing fast and he’s not taking any hits, I can tell you that.”

Detroit has been essentially forced into playoff mode right now, as Campbell’s squad is still on the outside looking in of the NFC playoff race.

The offense and defense did not have anywhere close to their best performances in a critical game for Detroit’s playoff hopes.

After 60 minutes of hard-fought action, the Lions could not overcome a poor run defense and a third-quarter that was dominated by the Steelers, even though there were exciting, heart-pounding moments.

Detroit was called for a late pass-interference, on the brink of a game-winning touchdown.

Here are several takeaways from the Lions’ 29-24 loss:

 

Lions veteran tight end sparks offense, but no points scored in first quarter

Detroit went three-and-out on its first offensive drive, after the Steelers won the opening coin toss and elected to defer.

Pittsburgh got on the board first on its first offensive possession. Aidan Hutchinson derailed the drive when he was able to sack Rodgers for a nine-yard loss. Kicker Chris Boswell connected on a 59-yard field goal to give the Steelers an early 3-0 lead.

On Detroit’s next offensive possession, tight end Anthony Firkser, who has had multiple stints in Motown, was targeted often. Jared Goff was able to connect with the 30-year-old on three tosses for 34 yards.

Near the goal line, Campbell again elected not to kick the field goal, opting to go for it on fourth down.

Unfortunately, Detroit was not able to convert on a fourth-and-goal play-action call, as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. broke up the pass play intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Lions’ run game struggles early

Detroit, like many NFL teams, want to establish the run on a weekly basis.

Coming into the game, Campbell’s squad was 8-1 when recording at least 100 yards on the ground. Early in the game, Detroit struggled to establish the run.

On multiple occasions, Steelers’ defenders found their way into the backfield to disrupt run plays.

Steelers linebacker Jack Sawyer and Alex Highsmith were able to disrupt Detroit’s rushing attack, making life difficult for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

Detroit tied the game on their third offensive possession. Jake Bates connected on a 36-yard field-goal to cap off an eight-play, 44-yard drive.

Goff went 10-of-14 for 104 yards through the middle of the second quarter and three possessions. Jameson Williams was able to record a couple of receptions early in the second quarter.

Tempo aids Lions’ offense to get into gear

Late in the second quarter, Detroit’s offense got into rhythm by boosting the tempo. On Detroit’s fifth offensive possession, Goff found Isaac TesLaa, Gibbs and Williams to move the football down the field.

Detroit was finally able to get into the end zone just after the two-minute warning, as the veteran signal-caller connected with TeSlaa on a 20-yard touchdown reception.

The scoring drive spanned six-plays and 62 yards and took just over two mins to take a 10-3 lead.

Pittsburgh had one final possession prior to the end of the first half.

Steelers tie game on fluky play

For most of the first-half, defense dominated the day. Both teams struggled to put together consistent drives, with the score being knotted at three points with two minutes to play in the second quarter.

Aidan Hutchinson was his usual dominant self, recording two sacks in the first half. However, the touchdown drive by the Lions ignited an offensive spark late in the second quarter.

Detroit appeared to have the Steelers bottled up, but Rodgers kept the drive alive with a 13-yard completion to Adam Thielen to convert a third-and-10. Two plays later, the Steelers scored a touchdown on what was a nearly indescribable and improbable play connection between Rodgers and Kenneth Gainwell.

Rodgers appeared to underthrow Gainwell, and the running back somehow found a way to corral the pass while going to the ground. He was not touched down by contact after controlling the pass, and as a result raced into the end zone.

Thomas Harper halts Steelers’ momentum to start second half

Detroit’s defense struggled coming out of halftime, allowing the Steelers to both run and pass the football effectively.

Thielan, Metcalf and Jaylen Warrren were all instrumental in assisting the Steelers move the football.

Rodgers led the team deep into Detroit territory when safety Thomas Harper made a momentum-changing play.

Harper knocked the football loose from Washington’s possession and the football was recovered by linebacker Jack Campbell.

After Detroit challenged, the officials ruled the football was knocked loose prior to Washington hitting the turf.

Last-play TD nullified; loss to Steelers puts staggering Lions on thinnest ice for making playoffs

Steelers sack Goff for a rare safety, eat up clock in third quarter

Unfortunately for Detroit, their next drive after the fumble recovery started on their own 3-yard line.

Goff tossed the ball out of bounds, which was then followed by short toss to Gibbs. On 3rd-and-8 from their own five-yard line, the 31-year-old was sacked in his own end zone by Steelers safety Kyle Dugger.

After the safety, the Steelers took a 12-10 lead and marched down the field on the ensuing possession.

In the third-quarter, Detroit only ran three offensive plays, as the Steelers ate up the clock on a drive that lasted 17-plays and ate up nearly 10 minutes.

Detroit trailed 15-10 when they next had an opportunity on offense early in the fourth-quarter.

Photo gallery from Lions hosting the Steelers at Ford Field

Lions’ defense was a disaster in second half

After Warren extended the Steelers’ lead to 22-10 on a 45-yard touchdown scamper, Detroit was able to respond with a solid offensive drive of its own.

Goff spread the football evenly and was even able to successfully convert a critical fourth down.

Veteran Kalif Raymond was targeted often, including on a 4th-and-2 call, trailing by 12.

Raymond was targeted and scampered 27 yards after the reception to trim the Steelers’ lead to five, 22-17.

Unfortunately, Detroit’s defense, needing a stop when trailing by five, gave up another 45-yard touchdown scamper to Warren.

Gibbs found the end zone in the fourth quarter to trim the Steelers lead to 29-24, giving the defense one more opportunity to make a stop.

The Steelers missed a 37-yard field goal that would have made it 32-24.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

Continuing to cling to playoff hopes by their fingertips, the Lions knew they needed to win out to cash in on any of those hopes. Instead, they were run over by the visiting Steelers in Sunday’s game, losing 29-24 when they couldn’t cash in on a scoring opportunity in the waning seconds.

Takeaways from disastrous defensive effort that sinks Lions in 29-24 loss to Steelers

Last-play TD nullified; loss to Steelers puts staggering Lions on thinnest ice for making playoffs

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ALLEN PARK — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell on Friday delivered some discouraging news regarding All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph.

Joseph (knee), who has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, was a limited participant at practice on Wednesday before being a non-participant the following day. Campbell said Joseph suffered a “setback.”

When asked if Joseph could be a candidate for injured reserve, Campbell said: “Could be. I mean, could be. We’re at the backend of the season now. Anything, even if it’s not technically long term, becomes long term because we don’t have many games left.”

“It bothers him,” Campbell said of Joseph’s knee. “That’s the best way to say it.”

Joseph hasn’t played since the Lions visited the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 12.

Despite both starting safeties dealing with significant injuries — Brian Branch recently had surgery to repair his Achilles — Campbell said he’s not worried about the position because, “I really do trust the guys that are going back there for us, I do, man. What you lose in a couple areas, you may gain in other areas having some of these guys back there.”

Does Campbell have any long-term concerns about the NFL’s best safety tandem?

“I can’t get to next year right now,” Campbell said. “I’m not even thinking about next year right now. My focus is, right now, L.A. and then beyond. Once we get through this one, then we’re onto the next one.”

More injury updates

S Thomas Harper (brain): Harper suffered a concussion in the first quarter of Detroit’s game against the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday. Campbell entered the week unsure if Harper could clear concussion protocol prior to the Rams game, but he was optimistic Friday.

“Harper will be out there at practice today, so feel pretty good about him. We’ll see,” Campbell said. “I can’t give you definitives right now, but that’s kind of where we’re at. Look, (Erick) Hallett’s been taking reps, (Daniel Thomas) has been taking reps, (Avonte) Maddox’s been taking reps. We’ve got plenty of guys, and they’re getting valuable reps. So, we’re good.”

OT Taylor Decker (shoulder): Decker missed his third consecutive practice Friday, as he continues to manage a nagging shoulder injury. He’s questionable for Sunday, as are Harper (concussion), offensive linemen Kayode Awosika (foot) and Christian Mahogany (fibula), running back Sione Vaki (thumb), wide receiver Kalif Raymond (ankle) and tight end Shane Zylstra (knee).

ALLEN PARK — It should come as no surprise that one of the toughest and most determined players in recent Detroit Lions history is playing the best football of his career as he nears 38 years old.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, now in his 17th NFL season, might even earn his first MVP.

But his former team, the 8-5 Lions, will try to crater his case this Sunday at SoFi Stadium in a matchup that now feels all too familiar after recent playoff and opening-night run-ins, both in Detroit — and both Detroit victories.

These two sides have each proved their point. The Rams won a Super Bowl with Stafford, and the Lions beat L.A. when it mattered on that cold, cold night in January 2024, exercising several generations of demons in the process. Then they won another to open the 2024 season for good measure.

For all of the simmering emotions that’ll exist in this game — from Stafford, from Rams coach Sean McVay, from Lions quarterback Jared Goff — the reality is this rivalry is being increasingly defined by two great teams being in each other’s way of a Super Bowl year after year.

“We played them in that playoff game, was such a big deal. The next year, played them again and that felt like even less,” Goff said this week. “So now it’s even further removed, and —  yeah, they’re a really good team and we’ll have our hands full.”

This one matters a lot; a loss wouldn’t devastate Detroit’s playoff hopes, but a win to reach 9-5 would springboard the odds. The Rams, meanwhile, are currently the NFC’s No. 1 seed and would like to stay in that spot.

And yet, even strictly in those contexts, it’s still Goff and Stafford in the center of the ring.

No looking back

Stafford’s status entering the season was up in the air. He was dealing with a herniated disc in his back that was treated with an epidural. At age 37, there was plenty of speculation whether Stafford had already played his last game.

Fast forward four months, and Stafford has not only been completely healthy this season; he’s been one of the best players in all of football. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s just starting to enter his prime.

Stafford’s 35 touchdown passes lead the next closest (Goff and Dak Prescott, 26) by a whopping nine touchdowns. He also leads the league in passer rating (113.1). His 258.0 yards per game are fourth; and he’s thrown just four interceptions.

“He’s playing as good as anybody at the position right now, that’s the bottom line,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.

The further we get away from the trade that altered both franchises’ trajectories, the less these now-yearly matchups are centered around it. It’s now been nearly five full years since the Lions traded Stafford to the Rams in exchange for Goff, two first-rounders and a third-round pick.

Goff, now in his fifth season with Detroit, has played more games as a Lion (78) than he did as a Ram (69). He’s long been ready to move past the trade and the emotions that came with it, especially since he and the Lions expelled their trauma in the playoff win against L.A.

And Stafford, for all of the jaw-dropping statistics he put up during his time with the Lions, has now achieved most of the crowning achievements of his career — plus all of the playoff success — with the Rams.

“I feel that way,” Stafford said this week, asked if the Lions have become just another team. “When I flip the (Lions’) tape on, I don’t think about all the guys that I used to play with because hardly any of them are still playing on the team. The biggest thing for me is watching them play, and they jump off the tape. They’re fast. They’re physical. They’re well-coached. … It’s another really good, complete football team.”

Goff, meanwhile, has held up his own end of the bargain. He led the Lions to two of their best seasons during the Super Bowl era in 2023 and 2024.

This year, he’s survived the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow, plus a midseason play-caller change. Goff is tied for second in completion rate (70.1%) and touchdowns (26), and fifth in yards per game (256.5).

“He’s a true professional. … He’s seen a lot of ball. He doesn’t blink. He doesn’t blink,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said. “I mean, there’s times where he’s getting his butt kicked, he just gets right back up. That’s one of his strengths; he’s mentally tough. And his preparation is the key to our success.”

When the two teams meet in Inglewood, Calif., this Sunday, the game will likely be defined by which quarterback has a better day at the office.

Goff climbs the charts

When Stafford was drafted No. 1 overall by the Lions in 2009, the decision wasn’t as cut and dry as history would have you believe. Stafford certainly doesn’t forget that a strong contingent of the Lions’ fanbase wanted the team to instead draft linebacker Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest.

“I remember about 50% of the fans in Detroit not wanting me to go there,” Stafford said this week.

It all worked out for Detroit: Curry wound up going three picks later to the New York Jets at No. 4, and played just four seasons before retiring to begin his coaching career in 2013.

Stafford smashed the Lions’ franchise records for passing yards (45,109) and touchdowns (282). But the team never figured itself out around him, resulting in just four winning seasons over 12 years. The Lions were 0-3 in playoff games started by Stafford.

Off in the distance, a challenger is beginning to emerge for the most productive quarterback in franchise history. Goff, 31, is second in both passing yards (20,221) and touchdowns (141) with plenty of football ahead of him. And while he still has a long way to go to match those ridiculous numbers, the fact of the matter is that Goff has already accomplished more in a Lions uniform, from a team perspective, than Stafford ever did.

This Sunday at SoFi Stadium, legacies aren’t on the line, like they were back in the 2023 Wild Card round. Whichever team loses will still have a chance to make the playoffs and reach or win the Super Bowl. The personal feelings have subsided as years have gone by.

But make no mistake about it: the Goff and Stafford trade is still at the center of every game these two teams will play.

“I know it feels like a win for us,” Campbell said, nearly five years later. “I’m sure they do, too.”