No excuses: The Detroit Lions have suffered several tough injuries for a second consecutive season, especially along their offensive line and secondary, but head coach Dan Campbell wasn't using those as an excuse for Detroit's 8-7 record and slim playoff hopes with two games remaining after Sunday's 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Campbell said it was on him that he hasn't gotten enough out of his team to win more games despite the injuries.
OPI call: The Lions thought they won the game on a Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown 1-yard touchdown late in Sunday's contest, but wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa was called for offensive pass interference wiping out the play. It looked like a defender might have contacted TeSlaa first and rubbed him into the defender who was trying to cover St. Brown, leaving St. Brown wide open. This is what referee Carl Cheffers told PFWA pool reporter Nolan Bianchi after the game:
"The reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch. It has to be beyond a yard, or it would not be a foul. The ruling on the field was that the action occurred beyond a yard."
OPI call II: It's too bad St. Brown's lateral to Goff for a touchdown on the final play of the game didn't count. It would have been an epic way to win a game. This might not be a popular take, but I thought the offensive pass interference on St. Brown was the right call. It looked to me like St. Brown initiated the contact and extended his arms with a push to gain separation. I didn't so much agree with the TeSlaa OPI a few plays earlier but I thought the officials got St. Brown's right.
Double-digit sacks: Aidan Hutchinson recorded a first quarter sack on Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers that gave him double-digit sacks on the season. He's the first player in franchise history to log multiple 10.0-sack seasons (11.5 in 2023) through their first four seasons. He's just the fifth player in team history to log multiple 10.0-sack seasons. Hutchinson finished Sunday with two sacks, the eighth multi-sack game of his career.
Run game woes: For a second straight week, the Lions lost the battle at the line of scrimmage. Last week in a loss to the Rams, the Lions lost the rushing battle 159 to 70. It was more of the same Sunday against Pittsburgh, 230 to 15. The Lions have built their turnaround behind strong offensive line play and a physical run game. There will have to be some work done this offseason to get back to being one of the better units in the league.
21 straight: Goff completed 34-of-54 passes (63.0 percent) for 364 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 101.2 passer rating against the Steelers. Goff has now produced a touchdown pass for 21 straight games, tying the longest streak of games with a touchdown pass in franchise history. Goff also topped 30 touchdown passes on the season, becoming the first player in franchise history to throw 30-or-more touchdown passes in three different seasons.
Substitution problems: Detroit continues to have issues subbing in and out of personnel packages on defense. The Lions were flagged Sunday for a too many men on the field and later had to burn a timeout because they only had 10 players on the field in a critical fourth down situation.
Back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons: Fourth-year wide receiver Jameson Williams caught five passes for 70 yards. That gives him 1,006 on the season, a new career high and his second straight 1,000-yard season after recording 1,001 yards in 2024.
