After a much higher-scoring game than initially anticipated, the Detroit Lions find themselves on the outside looking in on the NFC North.
The Lions are now 7-5, third in the division, and firmly behind the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears in the standings as those two teams battle it out for top rank in the previously Lions-dominated division.
Detroit still has a shot at the postseason, but the window has closed significantly as a result of the loss. The blame for that loss could be laid at the feet of a few players who spoiled a lot of fans' Thanks
3 winners and 4 losers from Lions' disappointing Thanksgiving loss to Packers
Winner: Isaac TeSlaa
With the injury of Amon-Ra St. Brown impacting the Lions' offense for much of this game, the rookie receiver managed to get in for quite a few more snaps than anticipated. He finished up the game with a touchdown on two targets, as well as with 35 receiving yards.
His hands are true, but he should have already earned a lot more targets by this point in the season with the loss of so much size without Sam LaPorta, and without Brock Wright in Week 13. St. Brown is expected out for "at least" the next one to two games, so TeSlaa should be getting a lot more burn in Dan Campbell's offense moving forward.
Loser: Dan Campbell
Speaking of the Lions skipper, Campbell had a game he'd likely want to forget. Between poor time management, constantly trying to go for it on 4th down when the team was getting nowhere in short-yardage situations against the Packers' defensive line, and far too many calls involving Jahmyr Gibbs running the ball up against a brick wall when Jared Goff was actually doing a decent job of letting the ball fly earlier in the game, Campbell was all over the place.
We've officially ended the honeymoon period of Campbell's recent takeover of the playcalling. He is in over his head against better defenses like that of the Packers, and it's obvious. There are a lot of areas in which Detroit needs to improve upon to improve their offense overall, but adding an offensive mind to their coaching staff and at OC must be a priority this offseason.
Winner: Tom Kennedy
Kennedy, who had to step up in the absence of both Wright and LaPorta, actually looked great in the Lions' offense and as their kick returner. He had four receptions for 36 yards as a more sizeable option at receiver, and three kick returns for 81 total yards.
He looked a lot more explosive as a returner than Kalif Raymond and Jacob Saylors, and he's likely in consideration to take over that role moving forward based on his performance on Thanksgiving.
Loser: Lions offensive line
Lions fans know, and are rejoicing over the fact, that Frank Ragnow is returning soon to shore up their offensive line again. The All-Pro centers sudden retirement completely dismantled their plans for the O-line after drafting two guards in Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier. They had to stick with Graham Glasgow for this entire season, and he's been less than stellar at the role.
Today, Trystan Colon was not much better as an option. The line allowed three sacks and seven quarterback hits on the day, with quite a few looking like breathtaking hits on Goff. It's hard to find a rhythm when you can't get any passes off due to these constant pressures from the defensive line your facing off with, and Ragnow's value was immediately made clear by their performance today.
Loser: Lions' 'Legion of Whom'
It was fun while it lasted but, much like Campbell's play-calling takeover, the Legion of Whom's dominance from Week 7 feels like centuries ago.
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The defense, overall, seemed to fall flat against Jordan Love's air attack, which got him four passing touchdowns and 234 passing yards on the day. He was slicing and dicing against Amik Robertson and Thomas Harper all day long, and Terrion Arnold was understandably a step slow in coverage in his first game back from the concussion protocol.
Getting Christian Watson back is would never be an ideal situation to manage for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, but you expect a lot better than having too many men on the field on key defensive drives.
Loser: Aidan Hutchinson
This is no knock on the Lions' best defensive lineman, as he had one of highest PFF grades from this game for Detroit overall and managed to get a few pressures on Love throughout the contest. However, it's difficult not to draw comparisons between himself and Micah Parsons, who managed to get 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits. Hutchinson notched zero hits and zero sacks.
Detroit has a serious issue with their pass rush. Without Hutchinson, they're not explosive enough to compete with any strong offensive line in the NFL. And, you expect a bit more out of Hutchinson in a game like today - the other star defender showed up. Where was he?