The Detroit Lions had a huge game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, December 21, and it pit the team against an old rival in quarterback Aaron Rodgers. This was a must-win game for the Lions, with any and all of their playoff chances on the line. Following the Chicago Bears‘ win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, December 20, the NFC North standings have the Bears at the top and the Packers not far behind, so the Steelers game was a necessary win for the Lions.
The Lions played their heart and souls out at Ford Field, but it wasn’t enough, and after a controversial end to the game with a Lions touchdown that was deemed no good due to a controversial offensive pass interference call, the final score was 29-24. Now, the Detroit Lions have a 8-7 record for the season, and that just brings more bad news for head coach Dan Campbell and the crew.
What’s frustrating is that the Lions have a handful of the best players in the league, looking at numbers and statistics, but they haven’t been able to gel in the 2025-26 season. What also hurts is that this crucial game for the franchise had to drop with the team’s old rival, Rodgers, at the helm. Now, the possibility of the Lions making it to the postseason isn’t pretty.
Detroit Lions Playoff Chances After Pittsburgh Steelers Game
Before the Steelers game, the Detroit Lions had a 20% chance to make the playoffs, according to the NFL’s statistics and research. Those odds were able to improve to 40% with a win over the Steelers but fall to 5% with a loss.
So, the Lions aren’t technically out of the playoffs, but it would take beyond a miracle for them to get there. That’s not good news.
The end of the game was controversial, because the refs deemed the game over after an offensive pass interference call, after Amon-Ra St. Brown pushed Jalen Ramsey in his route. The officials said the touchdown counted, and that was confusing, but the whole thing was confusing.
“I was all kinds of confused on the final play of the Steelers – Lions game,” one follower said on X. “Everyone was. And still is,” one responded.
Dan Campbell Knew the Steelers Game Was Important
Detroit Lions head coach Campbell knew the team’s game against the Steelers was crucial. “We got to get better with Pittsburgh coming into town. We got to play better,” Campbell told the press after the team’s loss to the Rams. “And now we know, you now have firsthand knowledge of what probably the top of the NFC looks like right now. That’s them. So now you know what it looks like.”
Campbell added, “You know what it is. And we’re not there right now. Doesn’t mean we can’t be. But now we know what it looks like. And you got to get better. We got to get better. We got to move on. Can’t sulk about it, can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We make the corrections and we move on.”
Campbell also said at the time that the team was going “back to work” to take on the Steelers. He added, “I don’t believe for one second anybody’s lost confidence. We just know we’re doing a good job of taking care of the ball. We’re getting some takeaways. We need to get a couple more. And then, we got to play for three quarters, man.”
Campbell continued, “We got to play high level. Excuse me, four quarters. Instead of that third quarter, that was a stinker. We got to do it for four. So, we got three to go here. We don’t control our own destiny, but we need to win these three. And it starts with Pittsburgh at home.”
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