It may be the final game of the season, it may not count for anything in the standings, and certainly has no playoff feel but Lions coach Dan Campbell is focused on playing the Bears on Sunday. That’s it. The coach is not looking to the future — yet.
“I know we have one more and I owe it to these guys, to the players and coaches to be locked in for another game here. Because it’s not fair to go out there and say that we’re going to do everything we can, prepare to win but we’re not really doing that,’’ Campbell said. “Then we shouldn’t even go out there. So, I’m not there yet. There are things that have crossed my mind, but I’m so far from all of that. Got to get ready for this one.”
“Well, they are playing for a lot. They are. I’ve asked this the last two years, I’ve sat up there with different players that got an opportunity and I said, ‘Did you give everything you had? Because you had an opportunity to play.’ They played in the last game of the year. ‘And knowing that, knowing that this probably is your last game, did you give everything you had? Was all your focus in it? Was it really? Because there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get a chance to play again or start again.’ You’re just not, every year is different,’’ Campbell said. “There are very few players you could say, ‘That guy, I know, is going to start next year.’ I mean I think – Penei Sewell is probably going to start. I mean yeah, we know that. But it doesn’t go that way with everybody. We’re going to have to reload and go back to the basics of some of the things we do and get back to what we were in ’21, ’22 a little bit.”
Five things to watch:
ONE: Can the run game get back into gear. Detroit has not rushed for 100 yards in three straight games and lost all three. “It’s been a work in progress, obviously. I think it’s a – like with Chicago, I think we can get after these guys a little bit, I really do. They’re giving up almost five yards a carry, so I like our chances there with this defense,’’ offensive coordinator John Morton said. “So, I like the matchup here and I liked it the first game. But yeah, I mean it’s always been a big emphasis every single week, the run game and trying to get it going. And sometimes you get behind the eight ball and you’ve got to throw it and sometimes you don’t get the right looks and sometimes we just aren’t executing. We all have our hand in all of this, so it’s just a little bit of everything.’’
TWO: The offensive line has not lived up to standards recently especially with the injuries forcing starters out and inexperienced guys to step up. The bad news is that RT Penei Sewell (ankle) is out. Looks like LT Taylor Decker and C Graham Glasgow could both return after missing last week’s game. That should help.
THREE: Jared Goff is coming off his worst game of the season with five turnovers — two interceptions and three fumbles. Look for the veteran QB to get back on track. “It’s what I’m paid to do. I’m the quarterback of this team and paid to play on Sundays and do my job and do it to the best of my ability. It doesn’t matter what our record is, what the situation may be, that’s my job,’’ Goff said. “And it’s about – I think Dan talked to us about this earlier – it’s about respect. Not only respect for yourself within your own team, but respect around the League. We want to go out there and put something good on tape, gain a little bit of respect back from probably some of the loss of respect we’ve earned this year.”
FOUR: Rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa has 11 catches in the last five games and four of them were touchdowns. He’s taking advantage of increased opportunities with the injuries to TEs Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright. “He’s done a really good job. And I would say he’s probably grown more than anybody has throughout the year, as far as our young guys. He’s grown the most,’’ Campbell said. “Just – and what you love about him is why he’s here. Of course he’s got ability, but he’s smart, he’s instinctive, he’s tough, he’s a finisher, he’s resilient. Every week we’ve been able to put more and more on him. He’s serving a lot of different roles, playing a lot of different positions. But he’s just continued to – he’s one of those guys that broke through probably that rookie wall at some point and just kept going. And that’s what you want. Those are the guys you’re looking for.”
FIVE: As a play caller, Campbell’s approach will be the same in this final game. “I’m going to call it to win. I’m going to call it to win. But I think it’s just a little different,’’ Campbell said. “I mean we’ve got some really good skill players and trying to get those guys the ball and finding ways to create opportunities for those I think is the biggest thing. That’s where it starts right now.” The Lions beat the Bears, 52-21, in Week 2 so Bears coach Ben Johnson could be looking. for a little revenge.
LIONS INJURIES: OUT — LB Alex Anzalone, RT Penei Sewell, OL Trystan Colon, S Thomas Harper, DT Alim McNeill; QUESTIONABLE — OL Kayode Awosika, LT Taylor Decker, G Christian Mahogany, T Giovanni Manu and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.
BEARS INJURIES: OUT — DL Joe Tryon-Shoyinka; QUESTIONABLE — DB Jagaun Brisker, DB Nick McCloud, OL Ozzy Trapilo and WR Romeo Odunze.
PREDICTION: Bears 24, Lions 17.
Lions Lowdown 