Pride of Detroit
Welcome to the roller coaster that is the 2025 Detroit Lions. Buckle up, and maybe bring along a vomit bag.
Everything went right for the Detroit Lions last week against the Washington Commanders. The offense was humming thanks to an elite ground game and a near-perfect passing attack. Things were looking up for the Lions after a tough stretch that warranted soul-searching.
Any offensive momentum from last week was dashed after a disappointing 16-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Despite a hallmark showing from the defense, an inept offensive outing doomed the Lions. With a 6-4 record and a tumble in the NFC standings, the Lions need to clean things up quickly. The goal post is no longer to win a Super Bowl—they just need to get to the playoffs in the first place in the NFC North.
John Morton is owed an apology.
A week after a dominant offensive outing against the Commanders, the Lions were riding high. The change of play caller from Morton to Dan Campbell clearly sparked something, and the offense looked rekindled. That optimism barely lasted one drive, as it was downhill for the Lions from the get-go. The Lions’ offense was so ineffective, you can almost count the number of successful plays on one hand: a few screen plays to Jahmyr Gibbs, a crossing route touchdown to Jameson Williams, and a 34-yard reception by Amon-Ra St. Brown on the prior play. On nearly every other play, the Lions were mediocre at best and horrendous at worst.
The biggest knock on Campbell’s play calling is the fourth down conversions—or utter lack thereof. The Lions turned the ball over on downs a whopping five times against the Eagles. None of the plays were particularly competitive either. They were stuffed on a fourth-and-1, ran a failed fake punt, and had incompletions on back-to-back-to-back drives. When you factor in their third-down inefficiency (just three conversions on 13 attempts), it was an utterly awful performance from the Lions in the clutch—you cannot blame this solely on the absence of Sam LaPorta.
Campbell looked completely out of his element on Sunday night, and the toothless aggression cost them this game. In hindsight, the Washington game looks like a complete fluke against an awful opponent. This offense still has significant issues at its core—and outside of simply playing better, I’m not sure there is an obvious solution.
The only reason the Lions were even competitive in this game was courtesy of the defense.
First, the statistical showstopper: the Lions stopped five of six tush pushes—FIVE OF SIX! The lone conversion came on the goal line, perhaps the most difficult play to stop in football. The big guys up front—Alim McNeill, Roy Lopez, DJ Reader, and Tyleik Williams—deserve a significant hat tip for a stout interior, limiting Saquon Barkley to just 83 yards on 26 carries.
The secondary, missing its top two cornerbacks and an All-Pro safety, was genuinely...
