I could already hear it in my head. I could see the headlines. “Same Old Lions.”
Sunday in Pittsburgh was a tough loss. It was especially tough because the loss came on my birthday. Maybe I should have called the Lions up and told them I wanted a win as my birthday present. But they’re not playing for one person’s birthday wish. The Lions are playing for much more.
The Detroit Lions lost to the Pittsburg Steelers 27-37. As I watched them lose to a team that looked like a bunch of giant bumble bees, I knew I’d soon be hearing about how you can’t trust Detroit; they’re the same old Lions.
Yes, they lost. But this is not a season ending game. This is not a team about to self-destruct. These are not the “same old Lions”. I’ve already heard people saying this is a game the Lions needed to win.
No. It isn’t.
If the Lions have to lose a game, this is one of the best ones to lose.
It was a road game in bad weather against an AFC team and there’s plenty of season left to bounce back and gain momentum going into the playoffs.
The Steelers being an AFC team means this loss is very unlikely to affect a tie-breaker if, say, the Packers manage to catch the Lions’ record.
The Lions needed this game?
Beating the Bears last week was much more important than beating the Steelers this week. Beating the Packers on Thanksgiving will be much more important. Even beating the Buccaneers next week is more important because it’s at home against an NFC team.
What’s the number one way you always hear about for getting to the playoffs? Win at home and split the road. Right now, the Lions have split the road and only lost one at home. Plus every single game on their schedule here on out is very winnable.
The Lions are still on top of the NFC North.
Yes, the Bears did have a perfect Sunday despite terrible weather. They won while everyone else in the NFC North lost and have a record that’s tied with the Lions for first again. But don’t forget the Lions swept the Bears so tying the Lions’ record isn’t enough for Chicago to win the division.
I would have loved to see Detroit win in Pittsburgh for the first time in my lifetime. But it was just a bad game; don’t try to make it indicative of the Lions falling apart.
In actuality, it was 3 bad quarters. The Lions played phenomenally in the second quarter, scoring 27 points, and it was almost enough to carry them to the end.
Many will point to the decision to go for a fake a field goal in the fourth instead of taking the easy 3 points to go up by 7 as a bad coaching move and the reason the Lions lost.
But the coaching staff led by head coach Jim Schwartz is making gutsy, aggressive calls this year that have often paid off. This one didn’t.
Schwartz has certainly made mistakes coaching the Lions, but it’s hard to criticize one of the key people who have helped turn an 0-16 team into a legitimate playoff team. Coach Schwartz also seems to learn from his mistakes.
There were plenty of mistakes in this game.
Bush fumbled, Martin fumbled, Stafford threw an interception, the secondary got beat, the D-line didn’t get enough pressure on Ben Roethlisberger down the stretch, dropped passes… But the Lions were still in this game.
Stafford hit receivers on the numbers in those last drives and even ran for a first down when he needed 10 yards and pass plays weren’t getting finished. We could have easily seen another Lions win here.
Still, whether in the cold, rain, sleet, or hail, Detroit has to finish. In this game, they did not. But this game won’t break the Lions. They’ve lost a few heartbreaking games, but the Lions have come up with wins when they really needed to.
My Friday blog will continue my series on why I believe the Lions still can finish the season, playoffs, and yes, even Super Bowl.
