Three and Out: Lions' preferred strategies falling short, weighing Ragnow's potential impact and contrasting star EDGE outputs
Allen Park — Here are three observations after a second viewing and a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Opponents increasingly unfazed by aggression
Who are these Lions?
They possess many qualities you seek in a football team. They’re talented, hardworking, tough, and resilient. When they get knocked down, they get back up, just as head coach Dan Campbell said they would during his introductory press conference five years ago.
At an earlier point in the franchise’s timeline to contention, this year’s results might have even felt encouraging. But the Lions are well beyond that stage. They don’t get to be the scrappy underdog anymore after winning 15 games a year ago. They don’t deserve endless patience after committing nearly $1 billion in contract extensions to their star-studded core.
We reasonably expected more. Not necessarily another 15-win campaign, but this was to be a Super Bowl contender without excuses. Sure, there’d be an adjustment to losing both coordinators and an All-Pro center, maybe even a temporary step back while adjusting to the departures.
Falling short of the playoffs? No way. Yet that’s the edge of the cliff the Lions teeter on after falling to the Packers on Thursday, getting swept in the season series by the division rival for the first time since the final year of the Matt Patricia era.