3 reasons why Lions lost to Commanders in playoffs despite being NFC’s best team ft. Jared Goff
Despite recording a 15-2 regular season, the Detroit Lions failed to win a single playoff game due to piling injuries, a bad performance from their quarterback, and failure to remain calm under pressure.
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Jared Goff gets sacked by Commanders (Image via NFL/X)
The Detroit Lions were exposed in the post-season. The top dogs of the NFC were expected to make it to the Super Bowl this year and win, but Detroit wound up losing its first game of the playoffs to the Washington Commanders.
The 45-31 loss was shocking, to say the least, but in retrospect, the Lions had it coming. Detroit’s confidence in the regular season has seldom carried onto the playoffs and this season, their quest for the Super Bowl came to an end because of three major blunders.
Fate, quarterback, and their defense cost them the game. A rookie Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders entered Ford Field as the underdogs, but wasted no time in proving their dominance.
Following are the reasons why Detroit failed, elaborated in detail:
1. Jared Goff is not a Super Bowl-winning quarterback
The Los Angeles Rams rid themselves of Jared Goff for a reason. It is because Sean McVay understood quickly that he was not the right man to rely on if LA wanted to win a Lombardi Trophy.
Goff had a remarkable regular season with 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns. Detroit’s offense mocked opposing defenses as they ran trick plays and drew up strategies that would seem ridiculous to try on a platform such as Madden.
However, Goff’s kryptonite is performing when the stakes are the highest. Goff fell short yet again as he had 3 turnovers, 1 touchdown, and 313 yards in the Divisional Round loss to the Commanders. Once the quarterback gets off to a good start, he is capable of keeping the momentum going, but in situations where he has a slow start or has to deliver when the odds are stacked against him, he crumbles.
When the Rams traded Goff for Matthew Stafford, the team was chastised as they gave up their franchise quarterback, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and two more players in exchange for an aging quarterback. However, since that trade, LA has won a Super Bowl and has secured 4 playoff wins. The Lions, despite getting more, have only two playoff wins to show for.
2. Injuries left Detroit short-staffed
One of the Lions’ corners that was on the field in the Divisional Round game, Kindle Vildor, was the team’s sixth-string quarterback a while ago. An undrafted Morice Norris made his first playoff start despite playing on the practice squad for the majority of the season. The Lions’ defense bore the brunt of injuries this season.
Detroit had 13 starters on IR heading into the game, all of whom were from the defensive side of the ball. In this situation, the Lions’ sole hope was for the offense to put its best foot forward and make minimal errors. However, the offense failed and Detroit’s shaky defense with a lack of competent edge rushers failed to stand up to Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.
3. Jayden Daniels and the Commanders dictated the pace all night
Be it basketball or football, the fundamental rule in sports when a team is attempting to come back from a deficit is to slow the game down and play at a pace one is comfortable with. Detroit displayed a sense of urgency and restlessness after the game began to slip out of their hands.
Especially when the team had possession of the ball on offense, the wisest move would have been for them to slow the game down. This would have benefitted them in two ways: first, it would minimize the room for errors, and second, it would keep Jayden Daniels and the Commanders’ offense off the field.
The Lions failed to set the pace and instead began to go play-for-play with their opponents, which ultimately cost them the game.
With this loss, a lot hangs in the balance for Detroit. This team can keep the roster intact, but the question is if they can keep their coaching staff together. As offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn are hot commodities being pursued by NFL teams for Head Coaching vacancies, the Lions may have just blown their best shot to win a Super Bowl.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2250 Articles Published)