Detroit Lions Week 11: Offensive Line Struggles

The Detroit Lions lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 16-9 in Week 11. The consensus: "Uh-oh." The Eagles are a good team (Super Bowl champions) and have an elite defense. The problem keeps popping up over and over: Stop the Lions run game and force Jared Goff to win a game behind a shaky offensive line. This equation is how most of the NFL's better teams are beating the Lions. The Lions ran for 74 yards, the fourth time this season they've failed to cross the 100-yard mark (also their fourth loss). Regardless of media perceptions, the Lions go as the rushing offense goes, and that includes Goff. If he gets into obvious passing situations against elite defenses, he struggles.

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Notably, the Lions have only two wins against teams that are currently over .500 (Chicago and Tampa Bay). They have a 3-3 record against teams at .500 or above (including a win against Baltimore). They've lost to Green Bay, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. Not the end of the world if it didn't feel like a pattern. The Lions are vulnerable this season. The offense has not been consistent. They have a few boom games (Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington) with massive yardage, but they've been average. Another pattern is that they hold a 2-3 record in the last five games.

The Lions have a difficult schedule, no doubt. Their last seven games feature the Giants, Packers, Cowboys, Rams, Steelers, Vikings, and Bears. The Lions will need to win at least 4 of these games to make the postseason. Giants and Vikings are the most likely, but as they proved against Minnesota at home, that's not an automatic win. Chicago is a different team than the one they played early in the season. The Packers will be a tough game on Thanksgiving. The Rams and Steelers both look like playoff teams. The Lions have a difficult road ahead of them. It's entirely possible, given the talent they have, to win out, but the inconsistencies make that something that has to be seen before it is believed.

Detroit Lions Week 11: Offense

The offense struggled. The struggle starts with the offensive line. Injuries aren't helping an already new-look offensive line this season. Graham Glasgow was in and out. Tate Ratledge was hurt. At this point in the season, it doesn't matter as much as what the Lions will do to address it. At one point, they called some screen passes and quick crossing routes that worked well. Play-calling is the Lions best tool to overcome the issues on the offensive line.

Ultimately, when they can't get the running game going, they are in trouble. It's easy to say that from the outside, but the numbers don't lie. If the Lions run for over 100 yards, they are 6-0. When they don't, they are 0-4. Screen passes. Trick plays. Something. They can't allow the game to come down to Goff making plays with his feet. That's not a diss on Goff. It's just not the type of player he is. Goff threw 14-37 for 255 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Detroit Lions Week 11: Defense

The Lions defense was stellar. It is clear that the Lions loss of Ben Johnson affected them more than the loss of Aaron Glenn. In fact, Kelvin Sheppard has been a noticeable upgrade. Sheppard and the Lions defense deserved to win yesterday. Allowing only 16 points in any game is impressive, but considering the field position the Lions gave them (0-5 on fourth down and an interception), the defense performed a miracle.

The Eagles totaled only 272 yards of offense and were held to 4-of-15 on third down. The Eagles only had one touchdown off a Jalen Hurts rush. The Lions defense stopped the tush push. Their performance shouldn't go unnoticed. The Lions defense went from weakness to strength from last season.

This is a defense that can compete in the playoffs. They've shown it again and again this season. This season, they've held six opponents to under 300 yards of total offense in a game. Last season, the Lions did that eight times all season. Last season, the Lions defense allowed over 400 yards of total offense to six opponents. They've yet to do that this season.

Detroit Lions: Week 11 Verdict

The time to start worrying is here. The panic after the Week 1 loss to Green Bay felt overblown, but now it could be seen as a sign of what was to come. The Lions are no longer dominant. They are an extremely talented football team that hasn't put it together yet. Perhaps they still can, but it isn't looking good. The inability to take down elite opponents, the struggles against some weaker teams (Vikings, Browns, and Bengals), and the offensive line's problems are all major concerns.

The Lions may come out next week and crush the New York Giants, and everyone feels relieved, but last week, the question was whether they had righted the ship or if the Washington Commanders weren't very good. If they win again and the pendulum swings, it may not be a sign of dominance. It may be a sign of playing an inferior team. It's not the end of the world for the Lions, but they need to "clean it up", as Dan Campbell says, now rather than later.

The refrain of "we're better than we've played" held more credit after a loss to Green Bay or Kansas City when the Lions were 0-1 or 4-2 than it does when they are 6-4, sitting in third place in the division behind Chicago and Green Bay. It's now or never. Time for the Lions to start biting some kneecaps.

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