Christmas Eve Coffee: The Lions have forgot who they are

Feeling all too familiar to the past, the Detroit Lions' 2025 season comes down to the final two games. Two months ago, I mentioned that this team was not playing to their standards, nor did they look like the same, dominant team we've been used to seeing. Folks will immediately point to the loss of Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson, but, personally, it goes much deeper than that.

We'll get into all that shortly.

For now, I want to start with how this specific Lions team lost its grit and, ultimately, its way. This was a team built and defined by their resiliency and their grit. That feeling has slowly evaporated on the defensive side of the football for the last month or so. After losing 29-24 to the Steelers, it's safe to say that the whole team has lost their identity.

From special teams, offense, defense and just in all phases of the game, their identity is nowhere to be found. Rest assured, it's not on just one player or one group, it's on everyone involved. From the top and all the way down. The last two draft classes have contributed very little other than being consistently injured. The coaching adjustments haven't been good enough and the lack of execution from the players has been the cherry on top of a disastrous season where the Lions were Super Bowl favorites.

Losing to the Steelers never felt like a real possibility, especially when listening to the majority of the Lions fan base. Many fans said how the Lions "do not lose back-to-back games under Dan Campbell." While that may have been true in 15 consecutive games following a loss, streaks are meant to be broken and that's exactly what happened on Sunday against the Steelers.

Everyone brushed past the Lions' matchup with the Steelers as an automatic win and everyone had their sights set on Christmas day against the Vikings. Ultimately, if the Lions won both of those games, it would have come down to a week 18 tilt against the Bears. Now that all seems like a stretch and very unlikely for any of it to matter. Let's pour ourselves a cup of a coffee and dive deeper into the Lions struggles from their 7th loss of the season.

Second half adjustments are concerning and feel non-existent

I want to start here because it's truly a tale of two halves for the Detroit Lions against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Lions weren't successful in establishing the run in the first half, they completely abandoned it in the second half. They ran the ball 11 times in the first half and only once in the second half. That lone run in the second half came on the first play of their final drive of the game and it was a 3-yard loss for Jahmyr Gibbs.

Adding to that, the Lions threw the ball 23 straight times in the 2nd half against the Steelers. I'm not sure I've ever seen that many passes in a row for an NFL team. Whatever the record is, that's inexcusable behavior from the Lions coaching staff. It's one of the first times that I can remember where the Lions completely abandoned their run game. It's always been a key element as a team that they did differently than everyone else. Especially during the tenure of Dan Campbell. Being out gained 230 yards to 15 yards on the ground was not on my bingo card for the Lions 2025 season.

It doesn't help that RB David Montgomery only saw 13 snaps against the Steelers. He saw 12 of those snaps in the first half and he didn't touch the field until late in the 4th quarter. It's been a common theme and a concerning one this season but especially these last 6 weeks of the season. In the Lions last three games, they've had 200 snaps on offense and Montgomery has only been on the field for 50 of those snaps. In those 6 games, Montgomery has only had double digit touches in one of them. Single digit carries for a running back that averages 4.6 yards per carry on the season is an odd game plan.

I know it's not ideal to take RB Jahmyr Gibbs off the field but you can package both running backs on the field at the same time. Meanwhile, forcing Gibbs down the throat of the defense isn't always the best game plan. There are times where an offense needs balance, especially in the backfield. The Lions offensive staff can't seem to remember that.

Some fans will say that it's the loss of Ben Johnson that is causing this decline and while that may have some truth to it, the Lions are supposed to have the coaches on the staff to make those adjustments. Unfortunately, that's not happening. Whether it be John Morton, David Shaw, Hank Fraley or someone else, it's a collective effort on everyone to right the ship offensively.

The same goes for the defense.

Since week 12, the Lions defense has allowed 453 yards per game (most in the NFL) and 31.6 points per game (tied for 29th in the NFL). No matter the circumstances, that's just flat out bad for any team. Against the Steelers, it felt like they played good defense up until the final 8 seconds of the second quarter. Prior to giving up a touchdown pass in unforgettable fashion from Aaron Rodgers to Kenneth Gainwell, the Lions forced Pittsburgh to punt three times.

To start the second half, the Lions defense forced a fumble but the offense gave up a safety on the following possession. From that point on, the Lions never had the lead again and the defense didn't force another punt or turnover. Instead, they gave up 45-yard touchdown runs on back-to-back drives. Both runs were executed to the left side due to soft edges and poor eyes and angles to the ball from safeties and linebackers.

Oddly enough, the Steelers defense has been relatively similar to the Lions by giving up a lot of yards in each game. Both teams rank in the top-10 for most yards allowed per game. The Steelers allow 363.1 total yards and the Lions allow 347.4 total yards. The only difference is that the Steelers have taken the football away more this season. They have 24 takeaways to the 16 takeaways we've seen from Detroit.

As for the adjustments, these aren't just a one-off situation for the Lions. Go back to last week's game against the Los Angeles Rams. The second half adjustments were lacking on both sides of the ball for Detroit in that game too. The Lions offense ran 6 plays for -5 yards and the defense gave up 17 points. This also led to the Rams eating up 11 minutes and 34 seconds off the clock in the third quarter. From there, the Lions dug themselves too deep off a hole and couldn't get themselves out.

Running out of time has been a common theme for the Lions this season. It's happened multiple times this season and that includes what we saw in week 16 against the Steelers. With two games left and a team that is out-of-sync from schematics to execution, it feels like a recipe for disaster.

Stop with the injury excuses

Week after week, all I ever hear about are the injuries for the Lions. No doubt, it's very unfortunate to lose Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph and D.J. Reed for portions of the season. In addition to that, the Lions lost depth pieces with cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and safety Dan Jackson ending up on injured reserve. That said, it's worth noting, all teams deal with injuries.

As mentioned above, the Steelers had 45-yard touchdown runs on back-to-back drives. Both of those touchdowns were scored when the Steelers ran to the left side of their offense. Oddly enough, the Steelers starting left tackle in this game was Dylan Cook and their left guard was Spencer Anderson.

Cook was an undrafted free agent in the 2022 NFL Draft from Montana State. As for Anderson, he was a 7th round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from Maryland. Both players were key contributors in the Steelers ability to run for 230 rushing yards and control over 34 minutes of clock on Sunday. Oh, and adding to that, the Steelers played this game without their best defensive player in T.J. Watt.

The Steelers overcoming injuries isn't some anomaly. Look at the San Francisco 49ers. They lost Brock Purdy for parts of the season and they lost their two best defenders (Fred Warner and Nick Bosa) ending up on injured reserve. They also never activated WR Brandon Aiyuk from injured reserve and it sounds like he hasn't been around the facility for months. Additionally, the 49ers lost DE Mykel Williams after a knee injury. They selected Williams in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Georgia. Through all of that, they're an 11 win football team and control their own destiny to being the number one seed in the NFC, if they win out.

This excuse has just run it's course. Injuries are part of the game and all teams suffer them. For good or bad, that's how it goes. In the Lions case, they've had 8 to 9 opening day starters consistently on the field for the defense. The same on offense. Whether it's the lack of execution, poor schematics or a combination of the two, they're just not getting it done. It's frustrating and I fully understand the impact of injuries but we've got to find another crutch to lean on for their lack of success.

Schematics and lack of physicality have become problematic

It doesn't matter which side of the ball you go with, the Lions are having problems schematically. When talking to the media on Monday afternoon, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that schematically "that they didn't give our guys a chance." Specifically, he was talking about the Lions run game or the lack thereof.

He's not lying, there's been multiple times this season where the Lions offense has been leaving backside defensive ends uncovered. By doing this, it allows the backside defensive end to become a bend-and-chase player very easily and it takes away cutback lanes for running backs on the backside. Against the Steelers, the Lions would do it to themselves with how they motioned tight ends aligned as H-backs away from that backside defender. If they're not going to consider some type of naked boot off this specific run play, defenses will never honor the quarterback. Therefore, they will continue to wreck the Lions run game.

As we know, it was a bad day of run blocking for the Lions against the Steelers. Every single starter on the offensive line was held to under a 60.0 PFF run blocking grade. The highest graded run blocker was center Kingsley Eguakun with a run blocking grade of 59.2 from PFF. The lack of physicality has been evident and is preventing sustained success from happening. The lack of physicality isn't just happening on the offensive side of the football.

It's happening on the defensive side of the ball too.

Over the Lions last two games, their defense has allowed 389 total rushing yards and only have a 7.59% interior pressure rate (per SumerSports). Additionally, they've given up 17 first downs on the ground and 6.94 yards per carry during that two game stretch. Meanwhile, the 10 explosive runs (10+ yards) that the Lions have allowed are tied for the 2nd worst mark in the NFL.

In the first half against the Steelers, the Lions defense only allowed 31 rushing yards. That quickly changed in the second half as the Steelers offense went on to run for another 199 yards. As mentioned above, they finished with 230 rushing yards and averaged 8.5 yards per carry. Having 90 rushing yards on two carries for a touchdown certainly helps, but whatever adjustments were made from the defense weren't good enough.

Detroit still feels like a place with tons of potential and opportunities for success

Fortunately, Detroit still feels like a place where opportunities are being created for players. Whether it be some players just entering the league and others that are on the last leg of their career, it doesn't matter. The main downside to this is that these opportunities are being created from injury or poor performances.

One of the main differences is that it seemed to pay big dividends in previous years. Unfortunately, the payoff just hasn't been as rich this season. With injuries and the reshuffling of the roster, we've seen players such as IOL Kingsley Eguakun and IOL Trystan Colon get opportunities. The same opportunities have been given to CB Nick Whiteside, SAF Erick Hallett (now with the Titans) and TE Zach Horton. Some performances have been better than others but each player is just trying to fill a role and make the most of their opportunity.

Those opportunities aren't just being given to UDFAs and practice squad players. We're seeing contributions from the Lions 2025 NFL Draft class. The usage has been weird but players such as WR Isaac TeSlaa and IDL Tyleik Williams have earned being part of a rotation in their position groups. We've seen IOL Miles Frazier get some run at left guard and there's been encouraging signs there. Meanwhile, Tate Ratledge has been a mainstay at right guard all season. Some games are better than others for all of these rookies but that's the thing, they're rookies and they clearly need time to develop.

That lack of experience can make a difference in games where the opposition plays physical and/or when it comes down to a possession. While it may not feel like it, it's worth noting that four of the Lions six losses were by 7 points or less this season.

You add some of the inexperience in key roles for the coaching staff, players not ready for expanded roles or a combination of both and I think you get exactly what we're seeing this season. I say these things because I have hard time believing that the Lions are just bad all of a sudden. The inconsistencies are frustrating but the pieces are there for more opportunities and plenty of success down the road.

With two games left in the regular season and a very slim shot at the playoffs, it's important for the Lions to weather the storm. They say, it's not over until the fat lady sings. The potential to hear her voice is daunting, but the Lions still have a shot. If they find a way to get in, that would be music to our ears. For now, the Lions appear to be a team that once "remembered who the f*** they are." Since then, they've forgotten all about it.

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Christmas Eve Coffee: The Lions have forgot who they are