Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14). / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Detroit Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills, 48-42, to fall to 12-2 on the season. In the game, they sustained a number of injuries to key players including David Montgomery, Alim McNeill, Carlton Davis and Khalil Dorsey.
It's such a sad state of affairs that the Lions have simply been ravaged beyond repaid in terms of injuries. This team was better coached, more prepared and more talented than any other in the NFL but has now lost a critical player at nearly every single position group. The David Montgomery/Alim McNiel tandem on Sunday against the Bills was a heartbreaker and, despite everything we love about the Lions and Dan Campbell, forces us to reconsider the Lions as a sure-fire Super Bowl team and even reconsider their ability to stay atop the NFC North.
It's time to stop talking about Goff as an underdog story, or least exclusively an underdog story. This year, he's one of the league's best quarterbacks. Period. Goff is second in EPA per dropback at .26, which is easily the best mark of his career. Maybe more impressively, he's second in completion percentage (71.4) and third in yards per attempt (8.5). Those numbers shouldn't go together. He passed for 494 yards and five touchdowns Sunday.
The defense just isn't good enough. That could be the undoing for this dynamic offensive-led team. The loss to the Bills exposed that defense, and now they have more injury losses with defensive tackle Alim McNeill and corner Carlton Davis. It's a shame.
At some point we have to judge the Lions on what they are now, and that includesa list of injuries that will be tough to overcome. It's getting harder to see them beating a team like the Eagles in the playoffs, especially after they gave up 559 yards to the Bills at home.
The Lions are an elite football team, and it's not at all unrealistic to believe they can still appear in their first-ever Super Bowl this year. However, injuries on the defensive side of the ball could ultimately make this a "what-if" season in Detroit.
Detroit's offense has carried the team through many tough games, and the Lions aren't likely to lose to a truly inferior opponent. With so many standout defenders on the injury list, though, I'm not sure there's a massive gap between the Lions and teams like the Packers and Vikings -- and Philadelphia has felt like the best team in the conference for a few weeks now.
The Lions still control the NFC's No. 1 seed thanks to the conference-record tiebreaker. As odd as it feels to say about a 12-2 team, I'm not sure that there's a team that could use a chance to rest and regroup in the postseason more than Detroit.
In a season full of body blows, the combo punch of losing DL Alim McNeill and RB David Montgomery is at least as cruel as Aidan Hutchinson's trip to injured reserve. Maybe this prideful but depleted pride can keep winning shootouts ... and maybe it won't even get a home playoff game.
Through the first three weeks, Detroit's offense averaged just 20.7 points and struggled, particularly in the red zone, where its efficiency ranked 26th in the NFL at 38.5%. Since Week 4, the offense has found its groove with a league-high 34.8 points per game and the NFL's top red zone efficiency (78.7%). The success is largely due to production from running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, though Montgomery is now out indefinitely because of a sprained MCL.