Le Journal

In a pivotal NFC North tilt on Thanksgiving Day, the Detroit Lions fell flat and it could have dire consequences down the stretch. It was sadly more of the same from the Lions: a few splash plays on offense with too many defensive lapses mixed in. Detroit is officially running out of games to turn their season around. Having lost both of their matches versus the Green Bay Packers, the Lions are not only playing catchup in the NFC North, but the Wild Card race as well. We have seen the Lions in recent seasons dominant opponents left and right. We have seen the Lions win hard-fought battles thanks to gutsy playcalling and execution. In 2025, both aspects have come back to bite the Lions. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Lions need to play near-perfect football down the stretch. Let’s take a look at some winners and losers from a rough Thanksgiving game. Loser: Super Bowl aspirations The playoff dream is not yet dead, but it is firmly on life support. Sitting at 7-5 on the season with five games to go, the NFC North is likely out of reach barring a significant turnaround from the Lions or a collapse from the other teams in the division. That leaves a Wild Card spot as the likeliest avenue for Detroit, but even that seems grim at this point. How many wins are still on the table for the Lions? Since the NFL schedule expanded to 17 games in 2021, only five Wild Card teams have made the playoffs with nine wins or fewer. Of those five, only the 2023 Green Bay Packers won a playoff game. Winning in the playoffs is difficult. Winning in the playoffs as a Wild Card team is very difficult. Winning in the playoffs as the third Wild Card seed is extremely difficult. Nine wins might be enough to make the playoffs, but it would be a serious uphill battle. As for achieving 10 or more wins and maybe securing the second Wild Card spot, it would mean having to beat three of the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Chicago Bears—a tall task given how the Lions are presently playing—plus some losing from the teams ahead of Detroit. I think many of us knew that a record of 15-2 would be unrealistic to duplicate, but we were at least hoping for a team capable of calling itself among the league’s best. The Lions are sadly just a fringe playoff team at this point. Winners: Jameson Williams, Tom Kennedy, and Isaac TeSlaa, WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown was one of the few players Detroit could not afford to lose. With the star receiver quickly ruled out due to an ankle injury and already missing Kalif Raymond, the Lions were down to Jameson Williams and the bottom of their depth chart. A week after getting blanked on three targets, Williams rebounded nicely against Green Bay. He led the way with seven catches for 144 yards, setting a new career-high. He again flashed his wheels, turning on the jets on a 44-yard catch and run and scoring on a brilliant 22-yard reception in which he demonstrated amazing contact balance. Already missing Sam LaPorta and potentially St. Brown, the Lions needed Williams to be their de facto WR1, and he delivered. Elevated from the practice squad, Kennedy was likely penciled in as a special teams replacement for Raymond. Kennedy was effective as a kick returner (three returns for 81 yards), but few of us expected him to be a go-to option on offense. Kennedy caught the ball all four of his targets for 36 yards, coming second on the team in receiving yards. He finished just a yard ahead of TeSlaa, who added two catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. It was far from a breakout performance from Kennedy and TeSlaa, but they made some big plays when called upon. That being said, a receiving corps of Williams, Kennedy, TeSlaa, and Dominic Lovett (who did not play a snap on offense) is not sustainable. The Lions are going to be a tough situation if St. Brown and Raymond are out long-term, especially with the playoffs riding on these final few weeks. Loser: Amik Robertson, CB Robertson had been stellar when thrust…

The Detroit Lions trail the Green Bay Packers 17-14 after one half of the Thanksgiving Day classic. Come join our live discussion of the second half by scrolling down to the comment section at the bottom of the page.

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