Week Fifteen: Buffalo Bills (10-3) @ Detroit Lions (12-1)

[MichiganCardinal]

33 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

This is the first time all season I've really, truly felt bad about the direction of this team and worried about our Super Bowl prospects. At some point you simply can't overcome this amount of injuries and expect to win every single game that breaks down into a shootout.

I'm interested to see the snap counts. I didn't expect the run defense to look so bad with Levi and Paschal back. I'm wondering if they were eased back into action, or if they just weren't at 100%.

Even without Alim, Reader, Levi, and Paschal last week, or CDIII or Arnold a few weeks before that, they just weren't getting gashed like they were today. I think they'll bounce back, no matter who is healthy and who isn't.

[Motown Bombers]

So Geno Smith went out with an injury. There's a good chance the Vikings play Seattle without Smith. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

16 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I'm interested to see the snap counts. I didn't expect the run defense to look so bad with Levi and Paschal back. I'm wondering if they were eased back into action, or if they just weren't at 100%.

Even without Alim, Reader, Levi, and Paschal last week, or CDIII or Arnold a few weeks before that, they just weren't getting gashed like they were today. I think they'll bounce back, no matter who is healthy and who isn't.

I hope so. But they can only rely on next man up for so long. They've schemed there way into being respectable with back up players and their less than star player starters. It doesn't seem sustainable.

[RandyMarsh]

22 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I'm interested to see the snap counts. I didn't expect the run defense to look so bad with Levi and Paschal back. I'm wondering if they were eased back into action, or if they just weren't at 100%.

Even without Alim, Reader, Levi, and Paschal last week, or CDIII or Arnold a few weeks before that, they just weren't getting gashed like they were today. I think they'll bounce back, no matter who is healthy and who isn't.

Again to credit Buffalo nobody in the league is playing at a higher level than Josh Allen now and his weapons were the healthiest they've been all season, when he is playing at his best even the best defenses have a hard time slowing him down. Despite our struggles defensively a lesser QB wouldn't have made many of them and the results probably would've been much different. Luckily for us there isn't a QB in our conference near his level. 

[buddha]

no team can survive this many injuries.  the fact that they are 12-2 is a testament to holmes and campbell, but half of the nfl war is attrition, and the lions have lost that battle.

its a damn shame to see the best lions team in my life go into the playoffs crippled, but it is what it is.

😞

[Motown Bombers]

On the flip side, the offense is healthy. If they can run and chew clock, the offense can carry the team. 

[lordstanley]

Didn’t some half-joke that if we were able to beat Chicago and Minnesota then we should rest everyone against Buffalo? Because the Lions could afford a loss to a non-conference opponent and getting healthy was more important? That would have been madness. But …

[RandyMarsh]

15 minutes ago, buddha said:

no team can survive this many injuries.  the fact that they are 12-2 is a testament to holmes and campbell, but half of the nfl war is attrition, and the lions have lost that battle.

its a damn shame to see the best lions team in my life go into the playoffs crippled, but it is what it is.

😞

Also it just happens to coincide in a year where 2 other division foes collectively have 3 non Lions losses and another NFC team only has 2 losses total. Most years if you finish 13-4 you comfortably win your division and likely have a bye in the 1st round. The Lions could go potentially 14-3 and end up a 5 seed. 

[RedRamage]

9 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

So Geno Smith went out with an injury. There's a good chance the Vikings play Seattle without Smith. 

It's just our luck that the Lions are finally really, really good and oh... guess what... so are the Vikings and Packers. 12-2 and we haven't clinched the division. We could very easily end up 14-3 and be the 5th seed in the NFC. That's just crazy.

[Motown Bombers]

Goff becomes the first QB in history to throw for over 400 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT, and lose. 

[Nate7474]

1 hour ago, RedRamage said:

It's just our luck that the Lions are finally really, really good and oh... guess what... so are the Vikings and Packers. 12-2 and we haven't clinched the division. We could very easily end up 14-3 and be the 5th seed in the NFC. That's just crazy.

Honestly it doesn’t matter where we finish and only matters what our health looks like. Our 2 losses are both at home so I think we can still win from a lower seed.
I believe we are the best team in the NFL but right now we aren’t even remotely healthy which probably puts us in the top 10 barely. 

[NYLion]

10 hours ago, buddha said:

no team can survive this many injuries.  the fact that they are 12-2 is a testament to holmes and campbell, but half of the nfl war is attrition, and the lions have lost that battle.

its a damn shame to see the best lions team in my life go into the playoffs crippled, but it is what it is.

😞

Yep, I'd consider myself a Glass Hall Full fan but I think their Superbowl chances took an enormous hit with the loss of McNeil and Davis.

I wouldn't count the Lions out because the offense is healthy, thus far, and the culture is strong but you need some dudes to win playoff and the Lions will be without their 3 best dudes for a Superbowl run, the Superbowl dream seems to be just that at this point....a dream.

[RatkoVarda]

19 minutes ago, NYLion said:

Yep, I'd consider myself a Glass Hall Full fan but I think their Superbowl chances took an enormous hit with the loss of McNeil and Davis.

SB is 8 weeks from yesterday. Maybe they have these 11 guys available to start? 

Smith-Levi-Reader-Pascal

Campbell-Anzalone

Arnold-Rakestraw(Vildor?)-Robertson

Branch-Kirby

Depth from practice squad guys and street free agents. Ugh.

???: Hutch, Jamal Adams, E Mosley

[RedRamage]

12 minutes ago, NYLion said:

Yep, I'd consider myself a Glass Hall Full fan but I think their Superbowl chances took an enormous hit with the loss of McNeil and Davis.

I wouldn't count the Lions out because the offense is healthy, thus far, and the culture is strong but you need some dudes to win playoff and the Lions will be without their 3 best dudes for a Superbowl run, the Superbowl dream seems to be just that at this point....a dream.

Without trying to be too much of a debbie downer... I agree. I mean this is what the project depth chart was supposed to be going into the season (as best I can piece together... let me know if I got something wrong!): 

And this is just the injury status right now. Reader, Levi, Martin, and Pachal have all missed games with injury issues, as has Arnold. Plus there are people who've been added to this chart who are also hurt now as well.

[Hongbit]

That sucked but trying to take some positives from yesterday: 

Jared Goff was sensational again.   Sure, the stats were a bit padded but damn did he look good.  He made all the right decisions and he threw some absolute lasers.  That throw on the Amon-Ra fumble was one of the best balls you will ever see.  Only a couple guys in the league can make that throw under pressure.    He’s undeniably a top 5 QB in the league and probably higher.   He can make any throw and is smart with the ball.  Josh Allen is another level talent and maybe that’s why he makes some throws that he shouldn’t.  He got away with multiple careless decisions. 

Coverage wasn’t as bad as the story may seem.  Josh Allen had 6 seconds to pass on almost every play.  That’s not on the DB’s.   He rarely found his first option open and many of their best plays were schoolyard scrambles.    

Grit. I think most everyone thought they were done after the Bills scored coming out the half and we went 3 and out.    The hits kept coming with the injuries and especially Alim.  Even after the botched onside that became an easy 7 for the Bills, the Lions kept coming. They fought hard the entire way and gave themselves a little chance at the end.    The entire offense manned up big time in the 4th.  They weren’t rolling over and were gashing the Bills.

This offense is a buzzsaw.  When they are on, it’s legitimately one of the best in recent NFL history.   The OL was not great yesterday and they still scored 42.    It’s a much harder way but they can still get to the SB with a suspect defense.   The Bills are now the betting favorites to win it all and they’ve given up 40 in back to back weeks.    It can all still happen even if the defense is crippled.

Edited December 16, 2024 by Hongbit

[Motown Bombers]

22 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

That sucked but trying to take some positives from yesterday: 

Jared Goff was sensational again.   Sure, the stats were a bit padded but damn did he look good.  He made all the right decisions and he threw some absolute lasers.  That throw on the Amon-Ra fumble was one of the best balls you will ever see.  Only a couple guys in the league can make that throw under pressure.    He’s undeniably a top 5 QB in the league and probably higher.   He can make any throw and is smart with the ball.  Josh Allen is another level talent and maybe that’s why he makes some throws that he shouldn’t.  He got away with multiple careless decisions. 

Coverage wasn’t as bad as the story may seem.  Josh Allen had 6 seconds to pass on almost every play.  That’s not on the DB’s.   He rarely found his first option open and many of their best plays were schoolyard scrambles.    

Grit. I think most everyone thought they were done after the Bills scored coming out the half and we went 3 and out.    The hits kept coming with the injuries and especially Alim.  Even after the botched onside that became an easy 7 for the Bills, the Lions kept coming. They fought hard the entire way and gave themselves a little chance at the end.    The entire offense manned up big time in the 4th.  They weren’t rolling over and were gashing the Bills.

This offense is a buzzsaw.  When they are on, it’s legitimately one of the best in recent NFL history.   The OL was not great yesterday and they still scored 42.    It’s a much harder way but they can still get to the SB with a suspect defense.   The Bills are now the betting favorites to win it all and they’ve given up 40 in back to back weeks.    It can all still happen even if the defense is crippled.

I think this may have been Goff's best game as a Lion, and it isn't just because of the stat sheet. He made plays out of structure and looked comfortable doing it. The pass to Patrick for the TD, the 10+ yard run for a 1st down, spinning out of a sack on the final drive, and a couple other plays where he scrambled, reset and got completions. He's not going to be confused with a Mahomes or Allen, but if he makes one or two of those type of plays a game it takes his game to a whole other level because he was making tight window passes out of the pocket all game. 

The secondary wasn't bad. The Bills receivers didn't have a great game. Shakir is their best receiver and had 6 catches for 39 yards. Coleman had one catch for 60 yards when he got lost in coverage. The Bills leading receivers were RBs and TEs. The injuries to the linebackers were exposed. Problem is, Kmet is a decent TE and Swift can catch it out of the backfield. That will definitely need to be addressed. 

[Motown Bombers]

McNeil tore his ACL. Likely won't even be ready by the start of next season. 

[Nate7474]

When Melifonwu is healthy I wonder if we kick Robertson outside to CB and move branch to slot. 

[Motown Bombers]

2 minutes ago, Nate7474 said:

When Melifonwu is healthy I wonder if we kick Robertson outside to CB and move branch to slot. 

I think he would be used more as a hybrid LB. More three saftey looks with him in the box. He's big, good blitzer and can cover TEs and RBs. Vildor hasn't been bad the past couple games and they have Moseley they can play at corner. 

[Nate7474]

Just now, Motown Bombers said:

I think he would be used more as a hybrid LB. More three saftey looks with him in the box. He's big, good blitzer and can cover TEs and RBs. Vildor hasn't been bad the past couple games and they have Moseley they can play at corner. 

Probably correct. We are going to have to play to not give up big chunk plays and hope for a turnover or 2 on defense. At least make offenses have to work a little bit. I doubt we get much pressure the rest of the way. 

[Motown Bombers]

I'll have to look at the stats, but it seems like the Lions didn't blitz a whole lot. They have been activating Jamal Adams so I'm not sure why they don't use him as a blitzer since that's what he does well. 

[RatkoVarda]

CDIII broken jaw, surgery, out until SB

[Motown Bombers]

I don't even know how you get a broken jaw in a football game without a brawl. The injuries are just comical at this point. 

[Jason_R]

Brutal. 

[Sports_Freak]

We need a thread just to keep up with all the Lion injuries. 😒😒