Lions Trying to Break 8-Game Losing Streak
The Detroit Lions have not won a game in their last eight attempts, spanning back to December of last season, when interim head coach Darrell Bevell won his first game at the helm, after Matt Patricia was dismissed.
After the first quarter of the 2021 NFL season, Lions head coach Dan Campbell's first with the organization, Detroit sits with a record of 0-4.
© Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
© Billy Hardiman-USA TODAY Sports
With tough opponents upcoming and a roster that has quickly become plagued by injuries, positives may be tough to come by for the next couple of weeks.
"It was a tough one yesterday, but the positives are -- we eliminate one explosive on defense and we score one touchdown out of the other four trips we were down there and we win that game, or we just score two touchdowns or two scores offensively," Campbell said at the onset of his Monday media session.
Campbell added, "You make two more plays, and you’re feeling a lot better today than what we did. In hindsight, going back and looking at that, that doesn’t excuse the loss, and there’s a reason why things happen. But, man, you make a couple of plays, and all of a sudden you feel a lot different today than the way we feel. I thought some of our young receivers stepped up. That was encouraging. I thought (Quintez) Cephus made some plays, (Amon-Ra) St. Brown. (Kalif Raymond) Lif did a heck of a job out there, not only as a receiver, (but) as a punt returner and as a blocker. I thought our D-line up front, for the most part, played pretty good. But, too many mistakes, too many errors.”
Looking ahead to its next six games, Detroit will face off against the Vikings, Bengals, Rams, Eagles, Steelers and Browns -- a daunting schedule that does not let up anytime soon.
With three of its top offensive linemen banged up, Detroit is heading into Minnesota, looking to match up against a supremely talented pass-rusher in Danielle Hunter.
"We're going to be smart with what we do gameplan-wise, to try and help our guys out. And not just them, but everybody. We've gone back and really tried to look at what we think we do well," Campbell said Wednesday. "We're four weeks in now. What do our guys do well? Knowing what we have up front moving forward, and what they have, how do we help?"
The loss of Ragnow, who was placed on injured reserve, could be for longer than expected. This could be the first occasion in which the talented center will be away for an extended period of time.
"Frank's a hell of a player. He's one of these top-notch players in this league. He's a top center, if not the top center," Campbell said. "And so, look, that's going to hurt a little bit."
