The National Lions Doomerism Is Ridiculous
Credit: Kimberly P. Mitchell via Imagn Images
By now you’ve seen the national media collectively holding a funeral for the 2024 Detroit Lions. “The Lions Built A Super Bowl Contender. Now It’s All Falling Apart,” wrote the appropriately-named Andrew Greif at NBC News. “Every year in the NFL, a few teams have their seasons just ruined by injury, and I fear that has happened to the Lions,” frets Mike Greenberg on ESPN. The Athletic puts the Panic Meter at an 8 of 10.
And look, there’s not going to be any sugarcoating of the injuries Detroit suffered in their loss to the Buffalo Bills. David Montgomery, Carlton Davis, Alim McNeill, and Khalil Dorsey are all important pieces for the Lions. Those four injuries bring Detroit up to 21 players on Injured Reserve, which is a disaster for almost every team. We can acknowledge that.
But we can also acknowledge that, before Sunday, the Lions had 17 players on IR, and they were 12-1 and the heavy favorite to win the NFC. You can’t dismiss the contributions of Montgomery, Davis, McNeill, and Dorsey, and sure, at some point things have to reach a breaking point. But still! 12-2! And the injured, battered Lions still managed to take a Super Bowl contender down to the wire and lose by just two points.
You don’t even have to claim a moral victory on Sunday to see that this season still has Super Bowl potential for Detroit. As much as the national media is looking at the players who aren’t healthy, let’s look at the ones that are. Consensus would generally say that the most important position on the field is quarterback, with edge rushers, wide receivers, and offensive tackles taking the next spots in some order. Let’s look at what’s going on here.
Quarterback: Jared Goff. Not just healthy, but having a career year. Since his five-interception dud against the Houston Texans, he’s averaging 336 yards per game with 14 touchdowns against one pick. Goff has a 117.6 passer rating, and again, he’s totally healthy.
Edge Rusher: OK, fine, Aidan Hutchinson‘s out. But he’s been out since Week 5. Technically, Detroit’s managed to have a better record without Hutch (8-1) than with him (4-1). Obviously, you’d rather have him than not, but it speaks to how well this team is built that they’ve excelled even without their top defensive player.
Wide Receiver: Amon-Ra St. Brown had his own version of the Michael Jordan Flu Game, racking up 193 yards while battling food poisoning. Jameson Williams is also on the field and having a productive season.
Offensive Tackle: Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker are doing just fine, thank you very much.
While it’s an imperfect science, it also has to be said that most of Detroit’s Pro Bowl talent is still intact. Again, Hutchinson is a huge blow, and they’re also down Jalen Reeves-Maybin. That’s two Pro Bowlers out.
Now let’s look at the former Pro Bowlers that are in and playing for Detroit now: Goff, St. Brown, Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Jamal Adams, Kwon Alexander, Za’Darius Smith. Meanwhile, their entire starting offensive line has made 65 of a possible 70 starts, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are making a case as the best 1-2 punch at safety in the NFL, and the Lions are still in the NFL’s top-10 in PFF pass rush grade despite a pressure-by-committee approach since Hutchinson’s injury.
There are holes to patch. The Lions must find a way to generate some rush from the interior now that McNeill is out for the season. Terrion Arnold is going to have to step up in a big way. Gibbs is going to have to show that he can carry the load without missing a beat.
But please, national talking heads, let’s not pretend like the Lions are a Jenga tower that’s about to implode on itself. So far, just two teams have had an answer for the Lions, and even then, just barely. This is still an incredibly dangerous team, and anyone taking them lightly after these injuries should do so at their own risk.
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