DETROIT – Detroit Lions fans have suffered more than any other fan base over the past 50 years, and it sure looked like this season was going to put an end to that streak. But with the first few signs of collapse, doubt has to start creeping in.
Whether it was the overtime loss to Seattle, the blowout in Baltimore, or even the letdown against Green Bay, most fans didn’t panic because overall, the Lions had looked like one of the best teams in the league.
But even when the Lions were 5-1 or 8-2, a segment of the fan base refused to jump fully on board. They’ve had their hearts broken so many times -- they didn’t want to get their hopes up only to have them crushed once again.
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Most of us thought they were just paranoid. I mean, look at what the Lions did for the first two months of the season. They beat the defending Super Bowl champs. They blew out four teams in a row. They went on the road and conquered some of the sport’s toughest environments.
But as encouraging as the signs were before the bye week, they’re just as concerning right now.
Last season, the Lions limped out to a 1-6 start before ripping off eight wins in 10 weeks. The opposite appears to have happened in 2023: Detroit is unrecognizable from its earlier form.
Ever since the bye week, the defense has been porous, whether it’s allowing five straight touchdown drives to the Chargers, making Jordan Love look like an MVP candidate, or nearly coughing up a 21-point lead in New Orleans.
What defensive issues have doomed Lions teams of the past? The first thing that comes to mind is a secondary that can’t guard on third down -- and that’s exactly what this unit has become. Jerry Jacobs is getting picked on weekly, the linebackers struggle in coverage, and the defensive line can’t get enough pressure to help them out.
On offense, it’s the same old story: turnovers, penalties, and bone-headed mistakes.
No moment has felt more “typical Lions” this season than Aidan Hutchinson jumping offsides on 4th and 13 and giving the Bears a free play when they weren’t even going to snap the ball. Longtime Lions fans could have told you right when Hutchinson crossed the line that a 38-yard touchdown was about to happen.
What about Alex Anzalone getting a defensive holding on third down, and then immediately tacking on a 15-yard late hit penalty on the very next play?
Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown dropped critical passes that would have moved the chains. Jared Goff had three turnovers once again -- the third time in four games.
It’s not just one bad game, either. The Lions truly haven’t looked the same in a month.
They were lucky to beat the Bears at home after getting thoroughly outplayed for 57 minutes. On Thanksgiving, the Packers jumped in front on the opening drive and never looked back. Even the Saints probably would have erased a 21-point lead to beat the Lions if they hadn’t lost their starting quarterback to injury.
For four weeks in a row, the Lions haven’t looked like a playoff-caliber team. Sure, slumps happen, even in the NFL. But the timing of this one couldn’t be worse.
The final four games on Detroit’s schedule come against the 7-6 Broncos, the 7-6 Vikings, the 10-3 Cowboys, and the 7-6 Vikings (again). Denver has won six of its last seven games, Minnesota has won six of eight, and Dallas just dominated the mighty Philadelphia Eagles.
Each of those teams is ascending while the Lions flounder. If they struggle against the likes of Chicago, Green Bay, and New Orleans, it’s reasonable for fans to be worried about the next month.
Fortunately, the Lions built themselves a bit of a cushion, and if they can get back on track next weekend, they’ll be in prime position to lock up the NFC North with just one win over the Vikings.
But the division race was an afterthought a few weeks ago, and now it looks like it could come down to the wire.
Lions fans have been through so much -- from the Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary to the Justin Tucker 66-yard field goal to the playoff game robbery in Dallas to losing last year’s tiebreaker.
If a team that started 8-2 finds a way to cough up the NFC North, it will be the most tragic letdown of them all. That’s why Lions fans have every right to be nervous.