DETROIT — A nightmare of a showing by the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions, squashed their Super Bowl dreams.
The Lions defense had no answer for Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, while Detroit’s offense turned the ball over five times in a 45-31 loss at Ford Field on Saturday night in the divisional round of the playoffs.
It was a dreadful combination. If there is such a thing as un-complementary football, this was it.
“You need a stop, you don’t get a stop, when we do get a stop we turn the ball over. We just didn’t complement each other. It’s just, as everybody knows, you turn the ball over five times — the last one was whatever so call it four that’s fine. It’s just too much,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “It’s too hard against a team like that to come back. We tried, we just couldn’t quite get over the hump. We thought if we could get within one score we’d have a chance, we just could not get over the hump.’’
Jahmyr Gibbs ran in for his second touchdown with 7 minutes left in the third quarter to tighten the gap, with Washington leading 31-28. But on their next series the Commanders came back with another touchdown.
Not sure what was more heart-breaking — losing in the NFC Championship a year ago or getting kicked out in the divisional round as a No. 1 seed this year. Close call.
Campbell was understandably emotional afterward and didn’t feel the timing was right to look at the big picture.
“At the end of the day, after the loss, I love the guys and respect them and appreciate everything they put into it. It’s not the time to talk about a great year or how many wins, cause at this moment I don’t think any of us feel that way,’’ Campbell said. “The whole point of doing what you do is to get to the show, that’s why you play this game. We fell short.’’
Five reasons the Lions lost:
ONE: The Lions coaching staff has preached all season about turnovers. And until Saturday, the Lions were decent at holding onto the ball. The five turnovers were the killer. Jared Goff threw four interceptions (one late in the fourth quarter) and lost the ball on a strip-sack. On a mysterious trick play in the fourth — what in the heck was that? — Jameson Williams threw a pass and was intercepted. Campbell said he would’ve liked to have him run it there.
TWO: Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was poised, didn’t let the noise bother him and found ways to gash the Lions defense. He threw two touchdown passes, zero interceptions and completed 22-of-31 for 299 yards. A mobile guy, he also ran for 51 yards. “We knew we were going to have our hands full,’’ Campbell said.
THREE: It’s rare that Jared Goff has an off night. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The Commanders’ defense was too much and he was not himself, finishing 23 of 40 for 313 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Goff was having trouble putting it all in words. “It’s a humbling game, a humbling sport,’’ Goff said. “We were on top of the world after that Minnesota game, standing here now trying to process this.’’ Gibbs tried but he could not carry the whole offense. He had 14 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns along with six catches for 70 yards.
FOUR: The defense was the weak link to start due to so many injuries. Then cornerback Amik Robertson injured his elbow on the Commanders’ second play of the game. They also lost safety Ifeatu Melifonwu to a hamstring injury. As he has done all year, Campbell never used injuries as an excuse for a loss. The defense was absolutely decimated most of the season and until Saturday, was able to overcome it and find a way to win 15 games.
FIVE: Coaching was an issue too. The defense did not look prepared for Daniels. Then in the fourth quarter, they had 12 men on the field with the Commanders on a fourth-and-2 at Detroit’s 5. Campbell took the blame for the penalty. Someone should’ve called a timeout when they saw the situation. Instead Brian Robinson ran in for a TD giving Washington a 38-28 lead. The Lions offense moved the ball – earning 521 total yards (compared to 481 for Washington), but was held to just 10 points in the second half.
Lions Lowdown 