The Detroit Lions have been NFL bottom feeders for so long that the reality of actually playing a home playoff game is shocking to their fan base. Much of the credit goes to head coach Dan Campbell for instilling an attitude in this team that has allowed them to climb out of the doldrums and win a division championship.
Campbell’s Lions have a Sunday night date with the Los Angeles Rams in the NBC prime time game. The two teams will meet in a playoff matchup that is chock full of storylines, including the rise of the Lions, and the return of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to face his former team. Lions quarterback Jared Goff will be facing the same storyline while taking on a surging Rams squad that has won seven of eight games.
But the biggest story is the Lions potentially advancing to the Divisional Round by winning their first NFL playoff game since the 1991 season when the Lions beat the Cowboys 38-6 behind Barry Sanders, Herman Moore and Erik Kramer. At that time, all looked right with the Lions, but it fell apart quickly.
In his first remarks about the game, Campbell was properly respectful of his opponent. He praised head coach Sean McVay and Stafford, and he acknowledged how well the team has been playing in the second half of the season. But his message to his team at this point is that it’s all about the Lions.
Coordinators play key role in Lions climb up NFL ladder
When it comes to hard-core strategy in winning individual battles, the Lions are depending on their 1-2 punch of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. The rise of Johnson as a play caller makes him a legitimate interview candidate for head coaching positions, but don’t discount Glenn.
“When it comes to rallying his players and making sure their heads are in the game, that’s Dan’s strength as a head coach,” said one AFC coach. “Coaches can get loud and pumped up, but they can’t always reach their players. Dan’s players know that he is legitimate and they are buying what he is selling.”
“They have improved in each of his 3 seasons, and that tells you the program is building. He’s also got the right people (Johnson and Glenn) in key positions.”
The Lions don’t have a slew of superstar players on the defensive side of the ball. Aidan Hutchinson is on that path and may get there very shortly. Hutchinson did a nice job of filling the stat sheet with 51 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, seven passes batted down, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
In addition to those numbers, Hutchinson seems to have the ability to turn things on at the biggest moment. He knows how to up the intensity on his pass rush in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
Outside of Hutchinson's ability as an edge rusher, linebacker Alex Anzalone is also a key player in Glenn's scheme. He is not the most physically gifted player in the NFL, but he is always around the ball and led the team with 129 tackles. He had three sacks and seven tackles for loss, but he doesn't come close to Hutchinson's big-play ability.
If there’s one other player on the Lions defense who can be a huge difference maker in the Wild Card game, it is free safety Kerby Joseph. Free safety is the position that requires the best instincts on the defensive side of the ball. Joseph appears to have the ability to understand what opposing quarterbacks are going to do next, and he is in the right spot most of the time.
His numbers include 81 tackles, 11 passes defensed and four interceptions, and he has a chance to ruin things for Stafford in his homecoming.
Offensive efficiency has been eye catching
When it comes to offense, Johnson got the job done in the regular season as Detroit ranked third in the NFL with 394.8 yards per game. The fact that the Lions had the second-ranked passing attack with Goff at quarterback is testimony to the offensive coordinator’s understanding of offensive game planning.
Goff is smart and accurate, but he does not have a game-changing fastball. Nevertheless, Goff's ability to build winning relationships with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond is probably the biggest reason they are a winning team.
The Lions have their opportunity to turn a very good season into a great one. The coordinators are on track to work out strong game plans, and there is little doubt that Campbell will have his team ready for a peak effort.
If it all works, a long-dormant team will capture national attention.
Can Chargers entice Jim Harbaugh back to NFL?
If there was one thing that Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos learned about his team this season is that it was devoid of competent coaching from start to finish.
He should have known that Brandon Staley was not an adequate game coach at the end of the 2022 season, but he brought him back to run the team into the ground. Interim head coach Giff Smith was just a guy as he took over for the final three games of the season.
The Chargers were a disastrous 5-12, but they do not have a last-place roster. Most observers expected them to be the Chiefs biggest challengers in the AFC West at the start of the season. The roster includes quarterback Justin Herbert, left tackle Rashawn Slater, wideout Joshua Palmer along with Keenan Allen, Khalil Mack, Mike Williams, Joey Bosa, Austin Ekeler and Derwin James Jr.
Players like Williams and Ekeler may not be back next year, but it all depends on who will fill the head coaching slot.
Family competition is a key issue
It is clear that the Chargers remain interested in Jim Harbaugh, fresh off the national championship with the University of Michigan. The victory was hugely satisfying to him.
“For me personally, I can now sit at the big persons table in the family,” Harbaugh said after the game.
Jack Harbaugh won a national championship as head coach of Western Kentucky at the 1-AA level, while his brother John Harbaugh has a Super Bowl title with the Baltimore Ravens to his credit. Now Jim has his championship title.
If he wants to move to the head of his family’s table – and it seems clear that he does – he needs to win another title.
Perhaps he can win a second national championship at Michigan, or perhaps it’s a Super Bowl title. He clearly did not rule the NFL out after beating Washington in the title game, and there may be other NFL teams that pursue him.
But the Chargers have been high on him for more than a year, and they are almost assured at coming at him with a huge offer. If Spanos can lure him, he appears to be the coach that can get this undisciplined team to focus on the task at hand on an every-week basis.
This and that …
As the NFL waits for the outcome of the meeting between Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick in New England, the head coach gave a hint at his end-of-season that he is willing to give up some or all of his personnel power in order to remain the coach of the team.
That’s the closest thing to Belichick acknowledging that he has been on the run this season and facing what could be the end of his days with the Patriots.
The firing of Mike Vrabel by the Tennessee Titans could not have been good news for Belichick. That’s because Kraft clearly has admiration for the former Patriots player in the past.
Still, the only two that will decide the situation are Kraft and Belichick. If the owner does decide to pull the trigger, he will have an opportunity to move forward with someone he likes very much.
No team in the postseason faces a tougher assignment than the Dolphins. In addition to playing in below-zero temperatures on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami defense has been torn apart by injuries.
The Dolphins signed veteran linebackers Justin Houston and Bruce Irvin after losing Jerome Baker, Cameron Goode and Andrew Van Ginkel have gone down in the past week. Other injured defensive players include CB Xavien Howard (foot), S Jevon Holland (knee) and S DeShon Elliott (calf).
After suffering painful losses to the Ravens and Bills to close the regular season, it could be another long and brutal night for the Dolphins as their season comes to a crashing halt.
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