ClutchPoints
The Detroit Lions didn’t lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers because of one penalty at the end. That moment will live in infamy. However, it shouldn’t obscure the truth. The Lions put themselves in position to be undone long before the final lateral ever left Amon-Ra St. Brown’s hands. In a game that swung violently on momentum and missed assignments, Detroit repeatedly gave Pittsburgh openings. Of course, the Steelers took every one of them. By the time the clock expired at Ford Field, the Lions weren’t just lamenting a heartbreaking finish. They were staring at a loss that exposed some uncomfortable flaws at the worst possible time.
The Lions suffered a gut-wrenching 29–24 loss in a chaotic Week 16 matchup. The game ended in controversy when quarterback Jared Goff appeared to score the game-winning touchdown on a broken-play lateral from St. Brown. Unfortunately, the play was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on St. Brown. That crushing moment capped a furious Detroit comeback after trailing by 12 points late in the fourth quarter. The deficit arose largely from two explosive 45-yard touchdown runs from Steelers running back Jaylen Warren. He finished with a career-high 143 rushing yards. Despite Goff’s massive passing output of 364 yards and three touchdowns, the Lions’ offense was painfully one-dimensional. They produced just 15 total rushing yards. That imbalance proved decisive in Detroit’s second straight loss.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the Detroit Lions most to blame for their week 16 loss to the Steelers.
If there was a unit that consistently undermined Detroit all night, it was the offensive line. What should have been a stabilizing presence instead became a liability.
Christian Mahogany’s return from injured reserve was anything but smooth. Early in the game, he flat-out whiffed on an assignment during the opening drive. That led to a Goff sack that immediately stalled momentum and forced a punt. The mistakes didn’t stop there.
In the third quarter, Mahogany failed to pick up a Kyle Dugger stunt. That allowed a free rusher to get to Goff for a safety. In a game decided by five points, those two points loomed enormous.
Tate Ratledge also struggled alongside him. The right guard repeatedly failed to pass off defenders. He allowed pressure through the A-gap and killed any hope of establishing a run game. Late in the fourth quarter, Ratledge committed a false start that derailed a critical drive. Within minutes, the Lions were suddenly down 12. Detroit paltry rushing yards output tells the story of a line that lost the trenches quite badly.
Alex Anzalone is usually one of the Lions’ emotional anchors. Against Pittsburgh, though, he was a focal point for all the wrong reasons.
The Steelers went after him relentlessly, both in coverage and in space. According to in-game PFF tracking, Anzalone allowed seven receptions for 103 yards. Nearly half of that damage came on a disastrous sequence in which he...
