Yea the long sustained drives by them were the biggest difference and that was the issue with almost every game and didn't matter who we played. I bet we have some of the longest drives against the d from the season. A lot of times you saw drives end in 3 which was good as I think we did get tougher once we got into our red zone but still you don't want to get there to begin with. They were liable as a team with that strategy and I don't know how you expect things to change much if you have the same leading it. Unless injuries and personnel were the issue but I think that's the op point. Other teams have done more with less. And another defensive strategy might help the team overall.
I don't think anyone can debate that the Lion's defense played poorly and it was compounded by 5 turnovers.
You can't ignore the injuries... So I feel like this is an example of great coaching that eventually the talent gap due to injuries caught up to them. And Washington played aggressive and gave Campbell a taste of his own medicine... After they were very aggressive vs us (as opposed to Bowles who was hyper conservative per usual).
Or put another way.
Coen had an A season and a C+ game.
Bowles had a D- season and a C- game.
Glenn had a B+ season and a D game.
Kingsbury had a B+ season and an A+ game.
This can happen for a plethora of reasons...maybe he was distracted due to head coaching options? Maybe losing the only starting CB left on the team made them switch to another scheme they weren't used to? Maybe Kingsbury called a better game vs them than vs us? Maybe Daniels played better after gaining confidence after his first playoff win? Maybe it's any given Sunday and Washington just played better?
There's a variety of reasons why a team can win or lose one game. You're quote me saying "watching these playoff teams do more with less" isn't any less true just because Bowles had one game slightly above his average game grade where as Glenn pitched a dud.
Sometimes your ace pitcher gets rocked.
Campbell is safe. Anyone who says he's getting fired didn't pay attention to the Lions regular season performance.
this is from an article on why the Lions lost
”
- Lions D couldn’t get off the field. Aaron Glenn’s defense finally wilted. An injury-ravaged crew couldn’t get stops against Daniels and the Commanders offense and failed to generate pressure without bringing extra rushers. As he’s done all season, Daniels ripped apart those blitzes with his arm and legs. A belabored secondary suffered yet another injury when Amik Robertson suffered a broken arm early. From there, coverage busts, missed tackles and overmatched backups got torched to the tune of 481 yards. The Lions forced a single punt on the night. It was a particularly brutal effort given how Glenn’s squad performed against Minnesota in Week 18. Detroit heads into the offseason with a host of ifs and buts, starting with how things might have turned out differently if the Lions weren’t devoured by the injury bug on defense.”
Lions D couldn’t get off the field, but how many teams will win with 5 turnovers? Not many.
that loss is on Goff as much as it is the defense.
they still put up 31 tho.
You're quote me saying "watching these playoff teams do more with less" isn't any less true just because Bowles had one game slightly above his average game grade where as Glenn pitched a dud.
Well what I was trying to say is the Commander and particularly Daniels are really good. Except for the score (better for Bucs than Lions) the games are almost mirror images because both include a defense unable to get off the field (lions force one punt we force zero) and largely because Daniels destroyed blitzing with his legs and with passing.
many here though the Bucs were the favorite just like the Lions were the favorite but Daniels destroyed both teams and in the same way.
Lions D couldn’t get off the field, but how many teams will win with 5 turnovers? Not many.
that loss is on Goff as much as it is the defense.
they still put up 31 tho.
agree on the outcome and the turnover-driven score
just pointing out that Daniels dominated both defenses with his ability to destroy blitzes and keep chains moving
Interesting that we held the Redskins to 23 points…
@white-tiger - commanders knew they had to score and take shots against the Lions. They just needed to play possession and keep our offense off the field. They did both.
@white-tiger - commanders knew they had to score and take shots against the Lions. They just needed to play possession and keep our offense off the field. They did both.
the games are both unbalanced time of possession games, almost the same even so I would say the difference is just the turnovers and the performance of the lions offense to try to overcome them.
I haven’t looked back but did the Lions defense have any goal line stands? I know they forced one punt
Washington is playing way above their pay grade.
6 forced turnovers vs giving up zero will do that for a team over 2 weeks.
Why should an injury ravaged beating the following week excuse Bowles for his defense unable to force one punt or get off the field?
Did he have some sort of great season we can look back and on say... Yeah not the greatest game from him but a helluva job this season... Especially when it mattered most
?
His identity is plastered across all of our losses. Death by 1000 cuts. Unwilling to role the nice and play aggressive. Banking on the defense to come up with a stop in the clutch and failing to do so.
Bowles could have helped his defense out by sustaining drives by going for it on 4th down.
But he didn't... And that's his identity and legacy.
As a head coach he's far too conservative. As a defensive coordinator he blitzes with reckless abandonment.
Lamar two TOs already.
Is Baker better than him? Baker only had one all game.
Did we overreact to Baker's turnovers all season? Was his fumble that bad?
See how dumb this argument is...?
Why should an injury ravaged beating the following week excuse Bowles for his defense unable to force one punt or get off the field?
I don’t get how you’d even come up with that. One doesn’t excuse the other it just says that either people are underestimating WAS (you said playing above their grade) or the Bucs defensive performance against WAS was probably not as bad as many here claimed it to be (Lions force one punt and similarly lost the TOP by the same amount Bucs defense held to a couple FGs etc)
why in the world is it either/or? If you agree that either one of those might be true THEN you’re “excusing” Bowles?
Nope
“The most pivotal play on defense was Detroit's costliest error of the season. With the Commanders leading 31-28 and facing 4th and 2 from the Lions' five-yard line early in the fourth, Detroit was flagged for 12 men on the field to grant Washington an automatic first down. Two plays later, it was back to a 10-point game. The Lions wouldn't threaten again.
On the play in question, linebacker Trevor Nowaske ran onto the field without another linebacker coming off. Multiple coaches on Detroit's sideline were jumping up and down and screaming for their players' attention, but Campbell apparently wasn't aware of the head count.”
“The most pivotal play on defense was Detroit's costliest error of the season. With the Commanders leading 31-28 and facing 4th and 2 from the Lions' five-yard line early in the fourth, Detroit was flagged for 12 men on the field to grant Washington an automatic first down. Two plays later, it was back to a 10-point game. The Lions wouldn't threaten again.
On the play in question, linebacker Trevor Nowaske ran onto the field without another linebacker coming off. Multiple coaches on Detroit's sideline were jumping up and down and screaming for their players' attention, but Campbell apparently wasn't aware of the head count.”
When you have a bunch of PS players out there, those mistakes will happen.
Campbell wasn't up to par on his coaching this game but he's been elite this year. Arguably the best in the league.
