Roar Reaction: Lions Suffer Thanksgiving Loss On Late Field Goal
What Happened
The Detroit Lions looked as if they were going to finally send their fans to Thanksgiving dinner happy with their first win of the season. That was until questionable coaching decisions and mistakes led to a late Chicago Bears drive and a 10th loss of the year. Cairo Santos connected on a 28-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bears a 16-14 win win at Ford Field. The 4-7 Bears saw their five-game losing streak come to an end, and sent the Lions’ winless streak to 15 games, dating back to last season. That streak includes a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers a couple weeks back, as the home team could not take advantage of Justin Fields sitting this one out. Andy Dalton led the Bears on an 18-play, 69-yard drive over the final 8:30 of the game, setting up Santos for a field goal with one second left. Jared Goff did throw for 171 yards and two touchdowns, but also had a fumble lost in his return after missing the game in Cleveland last Sunday.
What We Saw
Everyone loves the passion and emotion head coach Dan Campbell brings to the team, and rightfully so, but there have been numerous times this season that he has coached like a first-time head coach. Mental mistakes on Thursday got the best of the Lions, including a penalty for taking consecutive timeouts while trying to save some time late. The lack of discipline from the team continues to haunt them as well, which will always fall on coaching, as the Lions had 10 penalties against them, including three in a row that cost them a chance to score in their final possession. Goff did just enough to keep his team in the game, including a connection with former Rams teammate Josh Reynolds for a score, but not enough to prove he could be the long term answer at quarterback. And in the end, it all goes back to the Lions finding new, creative, and frustrating ways to lose, especially on Thanksgiving.
What’s Next
The road to win number one does not get much easier, with the playoff-hopeful Minnesota Vikings coming to town next Sunday afternoon.