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Eric Woodyard, ESPNDec 16, 2024, 01:42 PM ET
- Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: “Wasted, Ethan’s Talent Search” and “All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story”. He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan. You can follow him on Twitter: @E_Woodyard
DETROIT — Dan Campbell experienced a feeling Sunday that he hasn’t felt in 91 days: losing.
After the Lions fell 48-42 to the visiting Buffalo Bills to end an 11-game winning streak, Detroit’s head coach made no excuses while shouldering the blame for the team’s shortcomings.
“Ultimately, just like I told the team, I didn’t have those guys ready to go, not like that. Not when you’re playing a team like that and that’s on me,” Campbell said. “We had a number of guys that had played a lot better than that just overall so that tells me, that’s me. I didn’t have these guys completely ready to roll.”
He said he didn’t feel the team was prepared properly to match Buffalo’s intensity as Detroit couldn’t overcome a 14-0 deficit, which was its largest in the first quarter this season after two early rushing touchdowns by Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
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Allen, an MVP contender, torched the depleted Lions defense, going 23-of-34 for 362 yards and two touchdowns. He added 68 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Campbell called it a “tough pill to swallow,” but the Lions got to see how they matched up against one of the AFC’s best and know they have work to do.
The Bills and Lions combined for the most total yards (1,080) and most points (90) in a game this season.
“I just feel like we didn’t play at the same level that that team did today and that’s how I feel. And that’s why honestly, I put this on me,” he said. “I just didn’t feel like I had them ready to go, not like we’ve been and you can get away maybe if you’re not quite all the way to a 10, but not against the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota, Philly or whoever they are, it’s not going to be good enough and it wasn’t good enough today.”
One of the mistakes Campbell pointed to was making a decision to go for an onside kick early in the fourth quarter, which ultimately resulted in a Bills touchdown to give Buffalo a 45-28 edge with 11:51 left.
Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins returned the onside kick inside the Detroit 5 before Allen delivered a short touchdown pass to Ray Davis.
“I thought we’d get the possession. I thought we were gonna get that ball. It was one of [Jake] Bates‘ best kicks that I’ve seen him have,” Campbell said. “That was a big kicker at the end, and I think took a good jump on us and Hollins made a heck of a play on it. Obviously, now sitting here in hindsight after them taking it down to the 3-yard line, yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have done that, but it is what it is.”
Dan Campbell said the Lions will have to be better than they were on Sunday to reach their goal. Rey Del Rio/Associated Press
The Lions’ defense continued to take a hit as it lost three more key contributors to likely season-ending injuries in tackle Alim McNeill (knee), cornerback Carlton Davis III (jaw) and cornerback Khalil Dorsey (ankle), who were all ruled out against the Bills.
The Lions have 13 defensive players on the injured reserve list, but Campbell didn’t cite that as an issue for giving up 48 points, which was tied for the second most in a game since he took over in 2021.
“No, I’m not buying it. I’m not. I don’t buy it. We can be better,” Campbell said. “We should’ve been better. We know how good they are, but that team was more urgent than us today, overall.”
Although Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a career day with 14 receptions for 193 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown, he was dealing with food poisoning Sunday.
Quarterback Jared Goff also threw for 494 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.
Detroit (12-2) still has its sights set on winning a Super Bowl and will resist the temptation to overreact to a single loss.
“We’ll be just fine. I’m sure there will be a ton of stuff written about the sky falling, but no, internally, we’re good,” Goff said. “Yeah, we had won how many in a row up to that point, but it sucks to lose. We would’ve loved to win every game out, all the way through the Super Bowl, and I hope we can look back on this one as a good learning lesson and move on and use some of the stuff that we learned in this game to help us win these next three before we hit the playoffs.”
