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The Detroit Lions picked a bad time to have a bad game. Detroit looked like one of the NFL's best teams heading into the playoffs. The Lions finished the regular season with a 15-2 record and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC, both of which are franchise firsts. Unfortunately the Lions laid an egg in a big spot, losing 45-31 against the Commanders at Ford Field.
The Commanders were heavy underdogs heading into this game. In fact, the Lions were favorites at -9.5 to win this game. It took a lot of things going wrong to swing the game into Washington's favor.
But where exactly did Detroit go wrong?
Below we will explore who is most to blame for Detroit's crushing Divisional Round loss against Washington on Saturday night.
Lions QB Jared Goff failed at playing hero ball after falling behind in second quarter
Jared Goff was under pressure for the entire game, in more ways than one.
The Commanders only managed two sacks on Goff, but they did enough damage to rattle the veteran quarterback. Washington's first sack of Goff came during the first quarter with the Lions deep in the red zone. Goff fumbled the football and it was quickly recovered by the Commanders. This was arguably the most important play of the entire game, as it prevented the Lions from going up 10-3 or even 14-3 early in the contest. Had that happened, Washington would have to play the game the way Detroit wanted.
Once the Commanders gained a lead, it seemed clear that Goff felt pressure to get the Lions back on top. That's where things got even worse.
Goff threw three interceptions during the final three quarters of the game. It was clear that Goff was trying to force the ball to his receivers, trying to manufacture big plays instead of taking what Washington's defense gave them.
The best example of this was Goff's first interception, which became a pick-six for Washington's Quan Martin.
Goff's crucial mistakes were a major factor in Detroit losing this game.
A multitude of injuries, penalties, and turnovers finally became too much for Detroit to overcome
One of the best parts of Detroit's story throughout the 2024 season was their ability to overcome adversity. The Lions famously have a ton of players on injured reserve, so many that they could field a whole defense composed of their injured players.
The combination of several injuries, plus some poor turnover luck, got the better of Detroit on Saturday night.
One crucial penalty came during the fourth quarter, and seemed to be the result of Detroit's injury woes. The Commanders had the ball on fourth-and-two deep in the red zone. Detroit was called for a 12 men on the field penalty, which gave Washington a first down. Shortly afterward, Washington scored a back-breaking touchdown.
The Lions had too many secondary players on the field, which drew the penalty. Detroit was counting on reserve players like Morice Norris and Stantley Thomas-Oliver III in the secondary after Amik Robertson was injured on the second defensive play of the game. It seemed clear that there was miscommunication by one of these players, resulting in an extra player on the field.
You can easily blame Dan Campbell for not calling a timeout in this situation. However, it should not have been necessary in the first place.
Aaron Glenn's stubborn strategy put additional pressure on injury-riddle Lions secondary
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn made the most of an injury-riddled defense throughout the 2024 season. Despite a ton of injuries, Detroit finished in the top half of the NFL in several important statistical categories.
Those included:
- 20.1 points allowed per game (7th)
- 98.35 rushing yards allowed per game (5th)
- 16 interceptions (5th)
Glenn deserves praise for what he accomplished with this unit during the regular season. As a result, Glenn is a popular head coaching candidate and may be on his way out of Detroit soon.
All of that said, Glenn's defensive gameplan did not look like a good way to defend against Washington. Glenn loves to dial up blitzes, especially recently as the Lions played with a vulnerable secondary. He did not move away from this strategy on Saturday, sending a ton of pressure at Commanders QB Jayden Daniels.
This left Detroit vulnerable to giving up big plays, which they did repeatedly throughout the evening. The Commanders picked the Lions apart with triple-option RPOs, or run-pass options. This allowed Daniels to simply read Detroit's defense before the snap and then decide whether he would throw the football out wide, hand it off to a running back, or keep it himself.
Detroit got burned multiple times by its insistence to blitz no matter what. The most exaggerated example was a long Terry McLaurin touchdown pass where the Commanders had an obvious numbers advantage on the perimeter — thanks to Detroit blitzing a nickel cornerback.
It is easy to wonder what could have been if Detroit had played a more conservative brand of defense.
