Green Bay, Wis. — They couldn’t grab the biggest prize, so they took what was left, everything that was left. They took it with power and panache, shoving Aaron Rodgers and the Packers out of the way and clearing a path for their own brightening future.
The Lions needed a little help to reach the playoffs and didn’t get it. From this point forward, they should be determined to go ahead and help themselves. They finished with a flourish, and if it was a consolation, it was a sweet one. They grinded to the end, reduced Rodgers to a frustrated onlooker and beat the Packers 20-16 at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.
On the one hand, the Lions missed the playoffs by the narrowest margin, an overtime victory by Seattle earlier in the day. On the other hand, they closed with an 8-2 mark after starting 1-6, finishing with a winning record (9-8), a dominant record in the NFC North (5-1) and a brand new narrative. This is what Dan Campbell set out to change when he arrived two years ago, and in the NFL’s final regular-season game, on national TV, the Lions signaled all sorts of change.
Have they arrived? Technically not yet, not until they make the playoffs.
Are they a team definitively churning in the right direction? Yes. They showed they’re better than the Packers, and probably better than a few playoff teams.
Send them packing
Consider what they did on a typically frigid night on the old tundra. The Packers had executed their own revival from 4-8 and just needed to bump aside the Lions to launch another playoff run for their 39-year-old legendary quarterback. They seemed ready to do that, but it turns out they weren’t ready for the Lions, who were more than ready for this.
The Lions heard during pregame warmups that the Seahawks had won and that changed everything, and also nothing. If anything, the Lions played with a let-it-all-out looseness that has become their trademark.
“I’m telling you, when we found out, we were unfazed,” Campbell said. “We knew what we were coming in here for, to gain respect. We knew the only way to get that was to win.”
The only way to win was to not let Rodgers win it at the end, and they finished off the Packers with boldness and brilliance. Campbell turned the game over to Jared Goff, the quarterback who fought to find his place here. Leading 20-16 with less than four minutes left, one of the Lions’ rising rookies, Kerby Joseph, picked off a Rodgers pass. All the Lions had to do was kill 3:27 to kill off their nemesis, and they did it precisely how they’ve foreshadowed, with rumbles and gambles.
Some of the criticism of Campbell’s game management style has been warranted. But most of his gambits have a calculated purpose. On second-and-one from Green Bay’s 25, the Packers jumped offside. But Campbell declined the penalty so he could order another run to get the first down and keep the clock moving.
Then on second-and-17 from the 31 with 2:12 remaining, there was no thought to play it safe. Not with Rodgers on the sideline. Goff threw a pass in the right flat to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who flipped a lateral to Swift, who ran 14 yards to the Packers 17, setting up a manageable third down. Then with 1:15 remaining on fourth-and-one, Goff fired a quick 9-yard pass to D.J. Chark, and the game was essentially over.
“We said let’s let Goff finish this off, let him win the game,” Campbell said. “We believe in Goff, we wanted to put the onus on him, let him win it for us. That’s the way you want it to end. It was perfect. … Next year is a new year, but I love the foundation of this team, the youth and the veterans of this team. I don’t want to say it’s a passing of the torch, but I know this — we’re in play, and I know we have a team that’s only gonna get better.”
‘Playing with an edge’
Whether it closes the Rodgers chapter in Green Bay is debatable. I assume he’ll play at least one more year. Whether it opens the Lions chapter in the NFC North is the question that’ll entice Detroit fans the entire offseason. At least they answered the quarterback question, as Goff earned the right to be the guy. He was 23-for-34 for 224 yards and finished the season with a staggering streak of 324 passes without an interception.
Goff has a placid demeanor that belies his competitiveness, and yes, he heard what everyone said about him and the Lions going back to 3-13-1 last season. He was determined to deliver his response.
“We’ve been playing with an edge since 1-6, when everyone said our season is over, we traded T.J. (Hockenson), everyone wrote we were mailing it in,” Goff said, with the slightest smile. “A lot of things were said throughout the year that turned out to not be true. … We were doubted for a long time. We may be a little bit sensitive to that stuff.”
Goff said he wasn’t referring specifically to Rodgers, but that’s the guy who said the stuff that stung. When the Packers lost to the Lions 15-9 in November, Rodgers groused they can’t be losing to “that team.” He was probably right about “that team,” but sometime later, the Lions became “this team.” Rodgers also referred to them as a “dome team,” suggesting they couldn’t handle the cold, or the heat. With a strong running game and powerful offensive line, the Lions showed they’re learning to navigate many environments.
Jamaal Williams, the former Packer, capped a tremendous year with his team-record 16th and 17th rushing touchdowns, and his 72 yards put him at 1,066. He was emotional afterward, speaking of relatives he’d lost in the past year, but he was also his playful self, echoing what this exercise was all about.
“I don’t care what people say, but at the same time, they gotta stop disrespecting us,” Williams said. “DC (Dan Campbell) was the one who showed all the clips, everybody picking the Packers, nobody trusted us. I like that though, underestimating us.”
I suspect the underestimating part is over. The Lions have considerable young talent, and thanks to the Rams trade, the No. 6 pick in the first round, as well as their own at 18. Cautionary part: Next season doesn’t automatically pick up where this season ended, although the Lions should be a division favorite, with the Packers, Vikings and Bears perhaps in flux.
As the game ended, the large, loud contingent of Lions fans celebrated merrily behind the bench, like it was something they could get used to.
“I think we just showed a lot of people who we are, but next year every team will be different,” Goff said. “I think people know we’re here, and hopefully here for a long time.”
As the final Sunday of the season unfolded, a lot of things had to go right for the Lions, and a lot did. But this will be the lingering message of a stirring turnaround — it’s hard to wiggle into the playoffs without much wiggle room. Seattle won 48-45 in Detroit on Oct. 2 and that ultimately was the difference.
The chance was there for a while Sunday, and then it was gone. When Seattle kicker Jason Myers banged a 46-yard field-goal attempt off the right upright to send the game against the Rams into overtime, 16-16, the Lions seemed destined to get the help they needed. But it’s hard enough to control your own destiny, let alone someone else’s.
After Myers nailed the winning 32-yarder for the Seahawks, the Lions were eliminated. But eliminating the Packers was a suitable prize, as the Lions showed they’re not the pliable underdog they’ve been for so many years.
“Certainly I don’t want to hear that anymore, the same old Lions,” Campbell said. “That’s what this is all about, man. I wanted to be a part of building a brand, a new brand. That’s the point. Now to do that, you really gotta get into the (playoffs) and make some waves.”
That’s what you should take out of a 9-8 season that exceeded expectations. The Lions will — and should — feel good heading into the offseason. Thanks to GM Brad Holmes’ drafting, they have good young talent, including five rookies making significant contributions on defense. Aidan Hutchinson sacked Rodgers twice more and finished with 9.5 sacks and three interceptions in a terrific debut.
At times the Lions turned heads, and when that happens, you turn up expectations. As expected, they played hard, despite being eliminated. After the first quarter, Campbell was interviewed on the sideline and asked what his team’s motivation was.
“We don’t want them to go (to the playoffs),” he said, his face frosted by the 21-degree weather. “So that’s our motivation.”
It was explicitly apparent, as the Lions kept slugging the desperate Packers. Now, motivation should grow, and so should the possibilities. One more time the Lions were forced to play for a lesser prize. One more time they needed help. This should be one last time.
Twitter: @bobwojnowski