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A week after scoring their first win of the 2021 NFL season by defeating the Minnesota Vikings at home, the Detroit Lions reverted to their old ways and suffered a 38-10 road loss to the Denver Broncos. While they have saved themselves from a zero-win season, the Lions can't be too happy from what transpired on the field against the Broncos. With that said, here are some Lions takeaways from Week 14's Detroit-Denver game.
Lions Week 14 Takeaways from loss to Cardinals
The Lions are going to miss the playoffs for the fifth season in a row
Duh.
There was a microscopic chance that the Lions were going to still make the boat to the postseason prior to Week 14, but all those Dumb and Dumber memes can now rest after Detroit got handed a brutal whopping from the Broncos.
First of all, Denver was not going to let the one-win Lions stop it from paying tribute to the fallen ex-Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas with a victory at Mile High City. That win over the Lions helped Broncos fans feel at least a little bit better after hearing the traffic news of Thomas' sudden passing. At the same time, Broncos' success in Week 14 meant that the Lions are officially out of playoff contention.
The last time the Lions played in the playoffs was during the 2016 NFL season when they were still coached by Jim Caldwell and quarterbacked by Matthew Stafford but that Detroit team failed to get out of the wild card round.
It's time to save the Lions' best offensive player
With the Lions playing for nothing going forward but pride, it's probably a good idea for them to shut down running back D'Andre Swift for the remainder of the season. His fantasy owners will definitely not agree to that, but the Lions can't also afford to lose him to a serious injury that could put his availability next season in jeopardy. Swift has not played the last two games due to a shoulder problem, but the Lions do not seem to be anywhere close to entertaining the idea of sitting the former Georgia Bulldogs star out for the rest of the campaign.
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The Lions are “hopeful” to get T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift back, and Dan Campbell says they felt better today, but they’re still day-to-day.
Detroit will have the Arizona Cardinals up next at home in Week 15. That's an angry Cardinals team looking to vent out their frustration from a bad loss to Stafford and the undermanned Los Angeles Rams. Kyler Murray and company are looking to make a statement after such a loss and another win to at least secure themselves of the best record in the NFC West division for another week. (A win by the Rams and a loss by the Cardinals in Week 15 would mean a two-way tie for both teams for the top record in the NFC West.)
The Lions also have the Atlanta Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Green Bay Packers on their schedule from Weeks 16 to 18.
The Lions are looking like a deer in the headlight of Arizona right now. They are also likely to be the underdogs in each of the next three games after that showdown with the Cardinals.
Although Dan Campbell and the Lions would want to win at least one more before the season concludes, it's probably wise for them to put Swift on the injured reserve and save him for 2022.
Detroit's strengthens its shot for the top pick in 2022 NFL Draft
Here's the bonus for the Lions for all the beatings they have been receiving this season: they are on track to get the rights for the top overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Lions have plenty of holes to address. Detroit's front office will certainly take a long time deliberating on which player they are going to spend their first pick in that draft, but in any case, at least one area of the team is going to get a boost.
The Lions aren't locks to win the top pick, though, as the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans are all three-win-or-fewer teams. The Jags and the Texans are meeting in Week 15, so that's a game worth keeping track of in terms of the race to the No. 1 pick next year.
