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DETROIT — Coach Jim Caldwell was not talking about his future after the 35-11 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Rumors have been swirling ever since the Lions failed to make it to the playoffs that Caldwell’s time in Detroit might be done.

No official word has been released.

“Nothing at this point has changed, so still working. Just like today, still working,’’ Caldwell said after the game.

He said no meeting has been set with general manager Bob Quinn.

Five things to know about Caldwell’s future:

 

ONE He refuses to make excuses. Period. “Have you ever heard me defend or anything? Not to anybody, it’s not just to you. It’s not to anybody. I don’t make any excuses. That’s just not the way I live my life,’’ Caldwell said. “So, we go out, we do what we do, let everybody make an assessment from there. What’s real assessment is wins. Wins and losses, that’s the key.”

 

TWO Caldwell would not name what he is most proud of from his four years with the Lions . “I just think there’s some things that got done. But I’m not done yet, so we’ll see,’’ Caldwell said. When asked to explain that in further detail, he said: “Still working. I’m still working today. I’m still working. If it was something changed, I wouldn’t be standing here, right? Still working.”

 

THREE The players love him. It’s indisputable. “I think I’m pretty honest with you guys for the most part, I tell you what I believe. I don’t think personally that he’s the problem or ever has been. I’m Team Coach Caldwell until I can’t any more. I still think I know what we can do better, I’m still not going to mention it. But it’s not coach Caldwell in my opinion,’’ wide receiver Golden Tate said. “That’s not my decision. We all have got — upstairs, scouts and GMs and owners — they have a job to do and a job to keep and their job is to put us in the best situation to win games year in and year out. They’re going to make the decision on how they think this team should go forward. We’ll see what happens.’’

 

FOUR Quarterback Matthew Stafford on Caldwell: “I think everybody in that locker room really likes, loves, coach Caldwell, he’s a great guy, he teaches us a lot about football, he teaches us a lot about life, he cares about us. Love playing for him, he’s done a great job for us. I think everybody goes out there every week playing hard for him no matter what the game is, no matter what the circumstance is.’’

 

FIVE Ziggy Ansah on Caldwell: “I love Jim Caldwell, no doubt about that. He’s a great coach and he doesn’t only teach us how to be football players, he teaches us how to be responsible men, it’s not all about football. He made us understand that people go through tough times, tougher than this. People are going through tough problems … To be in the playoffs we have to be able to overcome that. Jim is a great guy and I wouldn’t trade him for nobody else.’’

DETROIT — Another game, another look on the offensive line for the Lions.

Center Travis Swanson was placed on injured reserve with a concussion on Friday.

So it appears the starters will be: Left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Joe Dahl, center Graham Glasgow, right guard T.J. Lang and right tackle Rick Wagner.

The Lions (8-7) face the Green Bay Packers (7-8) at 1 p.m. at Ford Field. If the Lions win they would sweep the Packers and own a 5-1 record in the NFC North. Neither team will be in the playoffs.

It could be coach Jim Caldwell’s final game with the Lions after four seasons. No word from general manager Bob Quinn on his status.

Defensive end Anthony Zettel (groin) is in after he was listed as questionable in Friday’s report. He was limited in practice on Friday, after he had full practices on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cornerback Nevin Lawson (concussion) was ruled out on Friday.

Jack Billingsley was signed to the 53-man roster, but is inactive. He filled the spot created after Decker was placed on injured reserve.

Other Lions’ inactives: Running back Dwayne Washington, running back Zach Zenner, tackle Brian Mihalik, tight end Michael Roberts and defensive tackle Rodney Coe.

Packers inactives: WR Davante Adams, CB Damarious Randall, G Jahri Evans, RB Aaron Jones, WR Jordy Nelson, LB Chris Odom and TE Richard Rodgers.

Sunday’s game was supposed to be a huge NFC North divisional match-up with the Lions hosting the Packers in the regular season finale.

And then the season happened. The Lions (8-7) and Packers (7-8) aren’t going to the playoffs, but the game is on at Ford Field on Sunday. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

It is not meaningless.

“Right now, believe it or not, we’re all playing for something. Some guys are playing for their jobs, a spot on the team next year, maybe they move up the depth chart. There is something at stake here, let’s not lose track of that,’’ wide receiver Golden Tate said. “We want to go out and get a win. We want to be 5-1 in our division this year. Beat the Packers twice which has been rarely done. We’re competitive, that’s just how we’re born.’’”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to watch on Sunday

1. Of course the Lions are going to play their starters. This is the NFL — they are only guaranteed 16 games per season and they work hard all year long just for the chance to play in those 16 games. It’s crazy to think otherwise. They are not looking to 2018 and what Jake Rudock can do. They are trying to win their final game this season. Hey, it’s not like they only play veterans throughout the season. They get rookies playing time regularly.

2. The offensive line will start its 11th different lineup Sunday. Center Travis Swanson was placed on injured reserve on Friday. It looks like you’ll see Taylor Decker at left tackle, Joe Dahl at left guard, Graham Glasgow at center, T.J. Lang at right guard and Rick Wagner at right tackle. The line has struggled all season due to injuries. Of all the position groups the offensive line is one that needs to play together regularly.

“You really value playing time playing together with each other as the offensive line. You really value those guys getting reps right next to each other, being able to communicate, being able to adjust as you go during a game,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “These things happen in the League. Different guys play next to each other. If you were able to start the same five guys 16 games in a row in a season, you would hope some of those things would be really clean on the sideline, in-game communication, those type of things. A little bit of it’s just a factor of reps.’’

3. Matthew Stafford will start his 112th straight game. He had a down week in the loss at Cincinnati after three excellent games in which he completed more than 80 percent of his passes. Expect the best from him against the Packers. In their first meeting this season — the Lions won 30-17 at Lambeau on Nov. 6 — Stafford threw for 361 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

4. Ziggy Ansah had three sacks in Cincinnati giving him nine for the season. It is not lost on the defensive end that just one more would push him into double-digits, always a goal for a sack master.  Remember he had just two sacks in 13 games in 2016. His career high was 14.5 in 2015.

5. This could be Jim Caldwell’s final game as the Lions coach. His record in four years is 35-28 in the regular season which is impressive by Lions’ standards. Three other NFL teams came out this week to say their coaches (who were thought to be on the hotseat) will return. General manager Bob Quinn could have done the same, but remained quiet. Caldwell was hired to win a championship and after four years he failed. The players love playing for him and you won’t find a better person than Caldwell. It’s a business, though.

Prediction: Lions 27, Packers 13