DETROIT – Generations have been waiting for a team like this – rich in talent, armed with creativity and boasting a brutal attack. For the first time ever, you could say “Detroit” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence and not get a laugh.
And that was before an 11-game winning streak moved them to 12-1 on the season heading into Sunday.
Except this week in Week 15, in a 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the familiar, if scary, sight of the Lions’ injury cart kept popping up after another to drag out defensive players.
Already riddled with injuries, double taped along with fillers, this is a recurring nightmare of an otherwise dream season.
First, cornerback Carlton Davis III was lost to a jaw injury and did not return.
Then cornerback Khalil Dorsey was sidelined with an ankle injury that looked brutal.
Then there was defenseman Alim McNeill, a key cog just back from a concussion, rolling off the field, into the blue tent and then onto a gurney with a knee injury.
“I don’t feel good about either of those guys. [Dorsey and McNeill]” said coach Dan Campbell. “Normally, if I say ‘it’s not good,’ it’s not good for the rest of the year.”
Forget about losing the game. It’s happening, and Buffalo is a big team with Super Bowl aspirations of their own.
What was important was what was lost. Again.
“No, I don’t buy it, I don’t buy it,” Campbell said of the defensive injuries that cost the Lions the game. “We can be better.” We should have been better. We know how good they are, but we should have been more urgent.”
Campbell is a man of no excuses. He repeatedly said that injuries are part of the deal and it’s everyone’s job on the field to be good enough and ready to perform. That’s what you’d want and expect him to say.
“I feel like we didn’t play at the same level as this team,” Campbell said. “That’s why I put it on.” I didn’t have them ready.”
But facts are facts.
The Lions’ injured reserve list was already stacked with linebackers — star linebacker Aiden Hutchinson (broken leg), defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo (knee), linebacker Malcom Rodriguez (torn ACL), cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (knee), safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (undisclosed), linebacker Alex Anzalone (forearm), linebacker Derrick Barnes (knee), linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck), defensive end Marcus Davenport (triceps), defensive tackle David Bada (Achilles), defensive end John Cominsky (knee) and defensive end Nate Lynn (shoulder).
That’s a dozen plus three more during the game.
No wonder Allen, who needs almost no help, led the Bills to 498 yards. He himself accounted for 362 (and two touchdowns) passing and 68 more (and two touchdowns) rushing. The Bills punted once.
The Lions defense was so battered and battered that Campbell, down 10 points, called for an aggressive, if accurate, onside kick with 12 minutes left in the game. Many ripped him as reckless, but it was a likely sign of his lack of faith in getting a defensive stop.
It also failed in spectacular fashion when Buffalo’s Mack Hollins returned it 38 yards to the Lions’ 5.
“I thought we were going to get possessions,” Campbell said. “I thought we were going to get that ball … Of course, now we’re sitting there in hindsight and they’re putting it down to [5-] yard line, yeah I wish I hadn’t. But it is what it is.”
One play later, the Bills scored to take a seemingly formidable 17-point lead. Still, the Lions kept pounding to make another shot (and nearly recover) on an onside kick with 12 seconds left.
That’s how good the Lions offense is — hook and lateral, touchdown pass to offensive lineman, 494 yards and five touchdowns from quarterback Jared Goff.
In the end, it wasn’t enough, and the Lions could find themselves in a three-way tie atop the NFC record by the end of Week 15.
Buffalo got a hard-fought victory in what some saw as a possible Super Bowl preview. It can be. The Bills are an offensive juggernaut. And while Detroit was beaten, it was the first time since September 15th – a full three months.
“No excuses,” Campbell said. “We weren’t good enough. That was the basis. It was frustrating… but you know what, that’s part of life. You lose and you have a bad taste in your mouth.
“What are we going to do about it?” he continued. “Are we going to sit there and feel sorry for ourselves? We’re going to bounce back and go to Chicago.’
Everything remains a goal for a franchise that has gone winless in the Super Bowl era. Maybe it’s too much, too soon, but NFL fortunes are fleeting and windows of opportunity are closing fast.
Campbell says the lions are built for it. He doesn’t focus on what he doesn’t have, but on what he does.
“I think a lot more about finding ways to win games,” he said.
It’s the right answer, and his record gives him the benefit of the doubt. Still, with the injury cart still wheeled out to the defense, the underlying question remains.
At what point is too much, too much?