The Detroit Lions have been a resilient team all season, but their latest loss may have sunk any hopes of repeating last season’s finish — and this time, a career-worst game from quarterback Jared Goff is to blame.
The Lions came into Sunday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a chance to climb into contention in the NFC North. But the offense struggled to get going in a 16-9 loss, one where Goff had the lowest completion percentage of his career and head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive fourth-down calls blew up on the Lions.
The loss leaves the Lions in a big deficit in the NFC North and likely ended their hopes of repeating as the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.
Lions Must Regroup Once Again
The Lions did well to rebound from each of their first three losses this season, winning after each one and keeping alive their three-year streak of no back-to-back losses. But the loss to the Eagles on Sunday handed the Lions their fourth loss of the season and put them two games behind Philadelphia for the top spot in the conference.
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy noted that Sunday’s loss will likely make it impossible for the Lions to finish atop the NFC like they did in 2024.
“The Lions are 6-4, third in the NFC North and on the outside looking in for the playoff race,” Pouncy wrote. “This is not where they were expected to be after 11 weeks. They just lost a measuring-stick game against a contender in their conference, and any lingering hope of securing a first-round bye is just about lost after this outing.”
Pouncy noted that the Lions still have time to get back in the hunt for the division crown, facing the hapless New York Giants next week followed by a rematch with the Green Bay Packers. But Pouncy suggested that the Lions look nothing like the dominant team that won the division in 2023 and 2024.
“You never quite know what to expect from this group on a week-to-week basis â something you havenât been able to say about them since they turned the corner in 2023,” Pouncy wrote.
Jared Goff Looked Lost Against Eagles
Goff’s performance was one of the biggest factors in Sunday’s loss. The veteran quarterback struggled against the aggressive defense, completing a career-worst 37.8% of his passes, going 14-for-37.
Goff took two sacks and had several passes batted down, often leaving the Lions with long third downs. The Lions rarely converted from there, going 3-for-12 on third downs and 0-for-5 on fourth-down attempts.
The Lions suffered from some costly miscues outside of Goff’s poor performance. After wide receiver Jameson Williams caught a 40-yard touchdown tie the game at 6-all late in the first half, the receiver celebrated by jumping onto the goal post upright and drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Lions went on to miss the long extra point, losing out on a chance to take the lead.
Campbell also drew criticism for his repeated fourth-down calls, which were falling flat in the face of an aggressive Eagles defense.
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