4 Takeaways from Lions' 37-23 Loss to Panthers
As the temperature dipped locally to near freezing temperatures, the pressure on the Detroit Lions has been dialed up, and has reached a fever pitch.
The goals for the 2022 edition of the Lions are now simple, win and the chances of earning a playoff berth are within reach.
After winning three straight games, the Lions entered Bank of America Stadium to play the Carolina Panthers, in the coldest game ever recorded at the venue.
The Panthers have not ever played a game in temperatures below 30 degrees at their own stadium.
A disastrous first half proved costly, as the Lions were dominated by a Panthers offense looking to rebound (especially after being embarrassed by the Pittsburgh Steelers a week ago).
Detroit (7-8) will next take the field on New Year's Day to face the Chicago Bears.
Here are four takeaways from the Lions' 37-23 loss to the Panthers.
The moment was too big for Dan Campbell's young roster
For a team that had been playing its best brand of football the last two months, a disastrous performance was not expected by many in the media or by supporters.
Unfortunately, Detroit struggled with executing fundamentals, even fumbling an exchange between Jared Goff and center Frank Ragnow.
Recall, Detroit featured one of the youngest rosters in the entire league.
Winning out was always going to be tough, as teams typically don't make that drastic a leap year-to-year.
What was most disappointing, though, was the clear lack of execution of the gameplan.
The Panthers were known to be a team that was one dimensional. Prior to the game, it was a clear objective to be able to stop the run and not allow the Panthers to gain big chunk yardage via the ground.
Within the first five minutes of game action, however, it was clear the Lions were going to fail in their defensive mission.
Lions' defense has disastrous performance
The past three games, the Lions' rush defense only gave up 85, 22 and 50 yards on the ground, respectively.
Carolina, which had clearly been a team reliant upon the rushing attack, started the game with multiple runs of over 30 yards.
Running back Chuba Hubbard carried the ball for 30 yards on the first play of the game.
On their first offensive drive, the Panthers ran it on five occasions for a total of 83 yards. Raheem Blackshear capped off the drive with a seven-yard rushing touchdown, to give the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.
By early in the second quarter, the Lions' defense had already given up 164 yards on the ground. The Panthers then again took advantage of Detroit's rush defense on their third offensive possession, to go ahead, 14-7.
It was an all-around, record-setting offensive performance by the Panthers in the first half.
The Panthers set a team record with 364 total yards in the first half, including 240 yards on the ground.
Jared Goff's turnover streak ends
The Lions' offense was quickly able to respond, as Jared Goff marched the team down the field on its first possession.
Goff was able to connect deep on a 39-yard pass to wideout DJ Chark.
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Tight end Shane Zylstra capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown reception, to tie the score.
The 26-year-old tight end ended up recording three touchdown grabs on the afternoon.
After again moving into the red zone, Goff had an issue with the center exchange, and it resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Panthers.
It was Goff's first turnover since throwing an interception against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9.
Amon-Ra St. Brown sets new Lions receiving record
Detroit's talented wideout came into Week 16, against Carolina, with 974 receiving yards this year.
He was only 26 yards shy of becoming the youngest receiver in Lions history to record a 1,000-yard season.
With two quick early receptions for 32 yards, St. Brown broke the record at 23 years and 61 days old. Calvin Johnson previously held the record, which was established at 23 years, 69 days old.
