DETROIT – They’ve waited generations here for a team like this – rich in talent, armed with creativity and boasting a blistering offense. For the first time, you could say “Detroit” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence without laughing.
And that was before an 11-game winning streak put them at 12-1 on the season heading into Sunday.
Except here in Week 15, in a 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the familiar, if haunting, sight of the Lions injury cart kept popping up after appearances to drag away defensive players.
Already riddled with injuries, with a two-deep scotch taped together with fill-ins, this is the 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 carted off with an ankle injury that looked brutal.
Then there was defensive lineman Alim McNeill, a key player who had just returned from a concussion, who limped off the field, into the blue tent and then ended up on the cart with a knee injury.
“I don’t have a good feeling about any of those guys [Dorsey and McNeill]” said coach Dan Campbell. “Normally if I say ‘not good’ it’s not good for the rest of the year.”
Forget losing the game. It’s happening and Buffalo is a big team with its own Super Bowl aspirations.
It was what was lost that mattered. 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 without excuses. He has repeatedly said that injuries are part of the deal and the job is to ensure everyone on the field is good enough and prepared enough to perform. It’s what you would want and expect him to say.
“I just feel like we weren’t playing at the same level as that team,” Campbell said. “That’s why I put this on me. I didn’t have them ready.”
Yet the facts are the facts.
The Lions’ injured reserve list was already overloaded with defensemen: star defenseman Aiden Hutchinson (broken leg), defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo (knee), linebacker Malcom Rodriguez (torn ACL), cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (hamstring), 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 hardly needs much help, led the Bills to 498 yards. He himself was responsible for 362 passing (and two touchdowns) and 68 more (and two touchdowns) rushing. The Bills punted once.
The Lions’ defense was so battered and battered that Campbell, trailing by 10 points, called for an aggressive, if telling, offside with 12 minutes remaining. Many called it reckless, but it was likely a sign of his lack of confidence in getting a defensive stop.
It also failed spectacularly when Buffalo’s Mack Hollins returned it 38 yards to the Lions’ 5.
“I thought we were going to get possession,” Campbell said. “I thought we were going to get that ball… Obviously, in retrospect, I’m sitting there, watching them pass it to the [5-] yard line, yeah, I wish I hadn’t. But it is what it is.”
One play later, the Bills scored, taking a seemingly commanding 17-point lead. Still, the Lions kept hitting to make (and nearly recover) another shot on an onside kick with twelve seconds left.
That’s how good the Lions offense is: hook and laterals, a touchdown pass to an offensive lineman, 494 yards and five touchdowns passed by quarterback Jared Goff.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, and by the end of Week 15, the Lions were able to hold a record three-way lead in the NFC.
Buffalo earned the hard-fought victory in what was billed by some as a possible Super Bowl preview. It could be. The Bills are an offensive juggernaut. And while Detroit was defeated, it was the first time since September 15 – a full three months.
“No excuses,” Campbell said. “We weren’t good enough. That was the starting point. It was frustrating… but you know what, that’s part of life. You lose and it leaves 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.
For a franchise that hasn’t won anything in the Super Bowl era, the goal remains everything. Maybe that’s too much too soon, but the NFL’s fortunes are fleeting and the window of opportunity is closing quickly.
Campbell says the Lions are built for this. He is not focused 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 track record gives him the benefit of the doubt. But while the injury wagon has continued to be wheeled towards the defense, the underlying question remains.
At what point is too much, too much?
