NFL Playoff Preview Countdown: No. 7 Detroit Lions

This is an excerpt from this week’s edition of Mike Tanier’s NFL Walkthrough, available every Monday at The Messenger…

2023 Season in a Nutshell

Take the Eagles’ or Cowboys’ 2023 seasons, lower the expectations from “Reach the Super Bowl or fans will reenact the French Revolution” to “Playoff berth? Let’s throw a party!” and you get the 2023 Lions.

Dan Campbell’s team cruised through a soft schedule with only a few stumbles, despite an injury-ravaged secondary that unraveled as the season wore on. A 38–6 loss to the Ravens in Week 8 revealed that the Lions were at least one notch below the top Super Bowl contenders. But c’mon: Detroit only wins its division about once per generation, so don’t be a spoil sport.

Quarterback Jared Goff

Goff is one of the most precise and efficient quarterbacks in the league when throwing from a clean pocket to quality playmakers, just as he was during his late-2010s Rams heyday. When forced to improvise or escape danger, Goff is likely to tumble down multiple flights of stairs, which is also on-brand. Fortunately, Campbell, coordinator Ben Johnson and general manager Brad Holmes have given Goff the tools and structure he needs to succeed.

Offense

Penei Sewell, Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker form the core of one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. Slot receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta give the Lions two enticing options over the short-to-intermediate middle of the field; LaPorta suffered a bone bruise and hyperextended knee on Sunday and is likely out for the first week of the playoffs. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are a versatile lightning-and-thunder backfield combo. Everyone in this paragraph except Sewell missed time with injuries this year, and LaPorta’s absence could be a huge blow.

The Lions lack a true boundary target and deep threat. Jameson Williams was drafted to be that guy but keeps alternating between the injured list (he missed Week 18 with an ankle injury) and Campbell’s doghouse (he has hands like feet).

Defense

Early-season injuries to Emmanuel Mosely and C.J. Gardner-Johnson forced defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn into crisis mode in the secondary. Cameron Sutton is miscast as a shutdown corner, and while Jerry Jacobs takes the field with a bullseye on his back each week, he’s better than the defenders he replaced. Rookie linebacker Jack Campbell is a thumper defending the run but a liability in coverage, causing further problems for the pass defense.

Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill lead a deep defensive front that does its best to help the coverage units. The run defense has been solid throughout the season.

Special Teams

Michael Badgley replaced Riley Patterson in Week 15 — Patterson was reliable for most of the season, but Badgley reportedly out-performed him in practice. Dave Fipp is one of the most respected special teams coordinators in the NFL. You better believe that the Lions have a fake punt or two (see the Cowboys game) in their playoff quiver.

Bottom Line

The Lions share many of the same strengths and weaknesses as the Cowboys and pre-meltdown Eagles, making them just as likely to get hammered by the 49ers in the NFC championship game as anyone else in the conference. They may be happy just to be here, but Campbell won’t let them get too complacent with their regular-season success.