ALLEN PARK – In each of the Detroit Lions’ three losses this season, Dan Campbell has alluded to some form of miscommunication — whether between players or between the players and coaches.
During their Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Campbell explained that there was confusion on the trick play that saw Jared Goff’s touchdown catch from David Montgomery called back, saying the coaching staff didn’t do a good enough job of clarifying the assignment and that the players simply executed what they were told.
But the lapse in communication during Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings mirrored that of their season-opening defeat against the Green Bay Packers — a lack of cohesion between Goff and the offensive line. The miscues up front led to one of Detroit’s roughest days in pass protection, with Minnesota sacking Goff five times, hitting him 10 more, and registering 23 total pressures.
Now sitting at 5-3 (1-2 in the NFC North) with two pivotal games ahead — at Washington and at defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia — Campbell outlined what it will take to clean things up.
“I think we just need to do a better job of really making our point about the communication of how it’s going to go down,” Campbell said. “Let’s make sure that we’re all on the same page as coaches — and in turn, the players are — and then they’ve got to hold each other accountable, too.
“I know it’s like, ‘Well, what,’ but it’s really that simple. It takes all of us, and we all have to be on the same page. And really, we’ve been pretty good, but it did catch us a couple of times yesterday.”
Along with their pass-protection struggles, those same issues up front carried over to the running game. The Lions’ offensive line failed to create consistent push, limiting Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to a combined 20 carries for 65 yards — just 3.3 yards per attempt.
Adding to the frustration, Detroit’s offensive line — including tight ends Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright — was flagged multiple times for false starts, holding, and illegal shifts, capping off what Campbell called “an abysmal day” in terms of execution and alignment.
Campbell admitted that communication wasn’t the only concern, saying the team has to be sharper overall heading into the back half of the season.
“You get in a rough spot, and normally we get ourselves out of it,” Campbell said. “You hit a rough patch in a game — no different than a season, right? — and you just have to get out of it. One thing compounded into the next mistake, and we started looking for things that weren’t there. It just kind of built from one thing to another.”
He added that penalties and stalled drives disrupted the team’s rhythm throughout the day.
“We never really got into a true rhythm, and when we did, we had a penalty that really hurt us and took us out of manageable downs,” Campbell said. “So, like I say, man, credit to those guys — they earned that win. We didn’t get real close to earning that win, but at the end of the day, we still had a chance.
“And really, those critical errors I talked about — take one of those away, and you may not feel great, but you’re walking away with a win. Any one of them — whether it was the special teams errors, the defense on the sudden change, or the offense on a penalty going into the red zone — it’s literally one play.”
The Lions’ communication challenge could grow this week, as offensive lineman Christian Mahogany is expected to miss time, and both Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker may also be sidelined.
Campbell said he doesn’t expect either tackle to practice on Wednesday, meaning Detroit’s line could be reshuffled yet again heading into Sunday’s game against Washington.
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