In the Detroit Lions Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears, the Lions might have had their most heartbreaking loss of the season yet. With a 14-13 lead that the Lions managed to maintain for the entire fourth quarter, it seemed like Detroit would finally get its final win of the year. But, the team gave quarterback Andy Dalton and the Bears too many chances in the fourth quarter, and on their final try, a chip-shot field goal to win the game, Bears kicker Cairo Santos stepped up and nailed it.
No first win for the Lions, just more questions from the media on the possible demotions of starting quarterback Jared Goff, offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, and inevitably, about the job security of head coach Dan Campbell. Before we jump to any of those conclusions and start making changes in Motown, let's pick out one good thing, one bad thing, and one ugly thing from Thursday morning's game.
Detroit Lions Week 12 Takeaways
3. D'Andre Swift's injury may not cost him any time (good)
When Lions running back D'Andre Swift went down early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, fantasy managers and Lions fans everywhere held their collective breath. D'Andre was “swiftly” ruled out for the remainder of the game and that gave even more cause for concern
Alas, they can finally take a sigh of relief as news broke today that Swift is “day-t0-day,” meaning– as long as he has no setbacks, he could be ready for the Lions Week 13 game against the Minnesota Vikings on December fifth. The Lions will need Swift, perhaps their best offensive player if they are going to have any shot in that one.
2. The defense was terrible with the game on the line (bad)
While the Lions' defense can take credit in the fact that they held the Bears to 13 points and scoreless through most of the second half, what they cannot hang their hats on was Chicago's final drive. An 18-play, 69-yard drive that saw the Bears eat up eight and a half minutes of game-time.
That cannot happen to a defense that is expecting to win the game, especially on that had looked dominant for most of the game. But, when all the pressure was on, this defense shrunk up epically and the result was yet another loss in this terrible 2021 season.
1. The Lions need some outside weapons in the worst way (ugly)
It might have not come down to the final drive of the game at all if Detroit was able to get more separation with their receivers. Josh Reynolds was recently claimed on waivers and he was BY FAR the Lions' best receiver on Thursday. That is another thing that cannot happen if you want to win football games in the NFL these days.
The Lions are playing the game with one hand tied behind their backs by not having any elite receivers. They don't even have any competent receivers, either, so it is not surprising that most of the passing game work goes through Swift and tight end T.J. Hockenson. The Lions simply have no other choice.
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