Instant observations: Trouble continues to brew for Lions in Thanksgiving loss

DETROIT - Dan Campbell wanted the Lions to play their best football coming out of the bye.

Instead, they continue to play some of their worst.

They were able to battle back for dramatic, final-minute wins against the Chargers and Bears the last two weeks, but their luck ran out in a 29-22 loss on Thanksgiving against the Green Bay Packers. Quarterback Jared Goff lost two early fumbles as the Packers surged ahead, led by Jordan Love completing 12 of his first 13 passes and connecting on a pair of scoring passes that stretched the margin to double digits.

Goff lost another fumble in the third quarter, then misfired on a pair of fourth downs as Detroit tried to mount another late comeback against the Packers. He connected with Josh Reynolds on a 12-yard touchdown pass to draw Detroit within a touchdown with 41 seconds left, but the Lions couldn’t land the onside kick and never touched the football again.

Now 8-3, the Lions head into December still occupying the second spot in the NFC. They now have an uphill battle to overtake Philadelphia (9-1) for the top seed, but still hold a two-game lead over Minnesota for control of the NFC North with just six games to go, and are in great shape to host at least one playoff game in January.

Anyone would have taken all of this at the outset of the season.

Still, it’s impossible not to worry about where this team is trending after struggling against three straight losing teams, two of which are at the bottom of their own division.

The defense has struggled all season against top offenses and quarterbacks, and has been struggling against everybody lately. They allowed 38 points twice in the last month, struggled to contain Justin Fields until the final moments against Chicago, and was overwhelmed by Love on Thanksgiving.

The first-year starter uncorked a 53-yard bomb to Christian Watson on the very first play from scrimmage, and needed just five plays before finding Jayden Reed for a 10-yard touchdown. The Lions were able to match that touchdown drive with one of their own on a 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, but Love came right back the other way for yet another score, this one a 7-yard strike to third-string tight end Tucker Kraft.

Love completed 12 of his 13 passes while building a lead that swelled to as many as 17 points, and helped flip the field position late with a 37-yard scramble on third-and-1. He finished 22 of 32 passing for 268 yards, three touchdowns and a 125.5 quarterback rating - his best start ever in Green Bay.

Another week, another quarterback having his best day against Detroit. At this point, you have to worry about the state of the defense, which has played like one of the league’s worst for a month-plus now.

You have to worry about Jared Goff, too.

He’s turned the Lions’ offense into one of the league’s best over the last calendar year, and has been especially good at taking care of the football. But he followed up his three-pick game on Sunday with a three-fumble game on Thanksgiving, two of which came in the first quarter, and one of which was returned by safety Jonathan Owens for a touchdown. With the defense whiffing against Love on the other side of the ball, Detroit fell behind by double digits for the third time in five weeks.

Does that really sound like a team ready for the playoffs to you?

Luckily they have another six weeks before the postseason arrives, and remain virtual locks for the tournament. But with the way they’ve been trending on defense and at quarterback, obvious work remains for this memorable season to remain on track in January.

Let’s get to some more instant observations:

- Aaron Glenn, right now. The time for answers is right now. Glenn’s been talking up this defense for a long time now, and the time for him to show what he’s talking about - what his defense is about - is right freaking now, before this wonderful season goes up in flames. The Lions were able to battle back for consecutive dramatic wins against the Chargers and Bears despite woeful defensive performances, but they got another dud on Thanksgiving against Jordan Love, and the offense wasn’t nearly good enough to make up for it this time. Detroit now has a bottom-five EPA over the last month, and it has come against three straight losing teams. What happens when the Lions face someone actually good? Like, you know, in the playoffs? They just need competent defense, and their offense will carry them to a lot of wins. But these days, there not getting even close to that low bar. There isn’t enough pressure on the quarterback - they never sacked Love, the fourth time this season they were blanked - and there definitely isn’t enough coverage in the back end. Why are receivers getting so much cushion? Where are the adjustments? When are the answers going to come? they come?

- What happened to Jared Goff? Not only has he been really good for the last two calendar years, he’s been really good at protecting the football too. He gave away the football just five times in the first nine games of the season - and now he’s given it away six times in the last four days, throwing three picks against Chicago and then losing three fumbles against Green Bay, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Goff first lost the football while under duress by former Michigan star Rashan Gary, and Jonathan Owens returned the loose leather for a score that buried Detroit in a 20-6 hole. Then on the very next series, Goff was trying to make too much happen on a scramble and lost another fumble on third-and-5. Then as the Lions tried to battle back from a 29-14 deficit in the fourth quarter, Goff coughed up the football again when hit by Gary on fourth-and-7.

Goff missed a wide-open Sam LaPorta on a third-down play, killing another drive, and was flagged for a costly grounding penalty at the end of the first half. He also threw a couple footballs at the feet of Jahmyr Gibbs on short routes in the flat. He had happy feet all afternoon, never looked all that comfortable, and finished 29 of 44 passing for 332 yards, two touchdowns and the three turnovers. He’s now played two of his worst games in a year in back-to-back weeks.

- The Lions stood pat on defense at the trade deadline, but were thrilled to be able to acquire Donovan Peoples-Jones at the trade deadline. But through two games, he’s been a total no-show. He didn’t catch his only target in his debut last week, and the only time his name was called on Thanksgiving was when he lined up illegally on what appeared to be his first play of the game. Jameson Williams is trending up, but with Marvin Jones now separated from the team, Detroit still needs more depth at receiver. Through two games, Peoples-Jones hasn’t helped at all.

- Dan Campbell has stolen possesions and won games with his daring ways. No one has gone for it more times since that man took over in Detroit, and no one has faked more punts too. He’s done it backed up in his own territory, like in Kansas City, which led to the Lions’ first points at Arrowhead and helped set the tone for a huge win. But those are gambles for a reason - they don’t always work, even when the odds are in your favor - and a big one backfired against Green Bay. Campbell dialed up another fake punt backed up in his own territory in the third quarter, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin picked up just 1 yard on the direct snap. Three plays later, Jordan Love uncorked a 16-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson on third down, stretching its lead out to 29-14 with 3:30 left in the third quarter. There’s no doubt Campbell’s daring ways have helped the Lions, but this one put another nail in their coffin against Green Bay.

- Rookie Colby Sorsdal earned a second straight for Jonah Jackson at left guard, but was pulled in favor of Kayode Awosika at halfitme. Sorsdal had some struggles last week too, but Dan Campbell said he was impressed with how the fifth-round pick finished the game. Four days later, there were more struggles, Jared Goff faced pressure on 45% of his dropbacks in the first half, and Sorsdal got the hook during intermission.

- For the second straight week, Jameson Williams caught two passes that made a big impact. He took a short slant for 13 yards on third-and-7 to extend a scoring drive in the first half, then hauled in a 38-yard catch-and-run that helped advance the football during that failed comeback in the fourth quarter. He can fly, that’s for sure, and the catches are starting to come too.

- The loss snaps a four-game winning streak against Green Bay, and a seven-game winning streak against the NFC North, both of which are franchise records in the Super Bowl era. Detroit has now lost seven straight games on Thanksgiving overall, dating back to Matt Prater’s game-winning field goal against Chicago in 2016.

- And with that, the advanced analytics everyone has been waiting for: 55 gallons of cranberry sauce, 100 gallons of gravy, 500 pounds of corn on the cob, 700 pounds of green beans, 1,500 turkey legs, 2,000 pounds of stuffing, 3,500 pounds of turkey, 3,000 pounds of mashed potatoes and 3,500 slices of pie. Thanksgiving at Ford Field, a tradition unlike any other.