Lions' Studs and Duds: Line Folds, Late Rally Not Enough

On Sunday, it was time for the Detroit Lions to fight for their playoff lives in Motown. The Lions were in a must-win scenario with the Pittsburgh Steelers during their final home game of the regular season.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of run game and a lack of offense in the third quarter, the game came down to a last second drive where a controversial offensive pass interference negated a Jared Goff touchdown via lateral. The Lions fell to the Steelers 29-24.

With no room for error, who thrived under pressure, and who faltered?

STUD: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson

Aidan Hutchinson wasted no time in re-introducing himself to former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Michigan man had his first multi-sack game since the win over Cleveland at the end of September. Best of all, that came in the first half alone.

Hutchinson bullied both tackles during the game, with the two sacks split between the left and right side.

In the second half, he was chopped, double-teamed, and the ball was out quick. Hutchinson could not make a second half difference.

DUD: IOL Christian Mahogany

It was not a triumphant return to the lineup for Mahogany. The Boston College product was back after a stint on injured reserve, and it was clear he had rust to knock off. Mahogany whiffed during the opening drive of the game, leading to a Goff sack that disrupted the flow of the drive and led to a punt.

Later in the first half, Mahogany completely missed Jack Sawyer on a pull block during the goal line, leading Jahmyr Gibbs being crushed for a loss.

In the third quarter, Mahogany missed a Kyle Dugger stunt, failing to pick up the blitzer and it resulted in Goff being sacked for a safety.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, and Mahogany was pushed into Goff on third-and-two, where he got stepped on as he released an incomplete pass.

DUD: IOL Tate Ratledge

Ratledge had a tough game alongside Mahogany, as the right guard had multiple missed assignments, failing to pass off players to allow pressures, and was part of the reason Detroit had no push during the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions’ second-round pick had a false start that helped doom Detroit, with the offense sending the ball away a few plays later. Only a handful of plays later, Detroit found themselves down by 12 points.

STUD: LB Jack Campbell

In a day where it was rare to see the defense making stops and good plays, Campbell was the only player with a semblance of the normal “edge” that the Lions have had.

The linebacker led the team in tackles, and was a player that Rodgers needed to identify on a regular basis to prevent Campbell from wrecking the game plan. The Iowa product had a spark alongside Hutchinson, but no one else on the defense was able to catch fire.

DUD: LB Alex Anzalone

For the linebacker next to Campbell, it was not a night to remember. Alex Anzalone was consistently exposed and picked on by Aaron Rodgers and Kenneth Gainwell.

Whenever a big play was sparked by the Steelers, Anzalone was around it. During first down runs, Anzalone was being kicked out by Connor Heyward. In the Steeler’s first touchdown of the game, Anzalone was whistled for pass interference, and could not even force a breakup or touch Gainwell as he fell to the ground, leading too the running back to pop up and sprint for a touchdown.

DUD: RB Jahmyr Gibbs

It was not a highlight day for Gibbs. From one of his first carries being an unforced fumble, to being destroyed behind the line of scrimmage twice on the goal line, it was not a great day for the most dynamic playmaker in the league.

While some of it, such as the goal line carries, were not his fault, the unforced fumble, alongside some other plays, fall firmly into Gibbs’ responsibilities. After his first four carries, Gibbs had rushed for minus-four yards.

Gibbs did manage to have a touchdown in the second half, with his receiving game on full display as the Lions completely abandoned the run. The one time Detroit tried a Gibbs run, right before the two minute warning, Gibbs lost three yards. That was really the story of the night for Gibbs and the run game.

STUD: WR Kalif Raymond

When it is fourth down and season, who do you turn to? For Jared Goff, it was Kalif Raymond. The veteran receiver had a legacy drive in the fourth quarter, keeping Detroit in the game after they fell down by 12 points.

Raymond had catch after catch, with Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown being blanketed, or, in the case of St. Brown, having a drop. The Lions’ third receiver recorded his first touchdown of the season, taking a drag route 27 yards for the score.

DUD: CB Amik Robertson

This was not a day to remember for Robertson. While Robertson was not a Lions’ defensive back that Aaron Rodgers saw during his time as a Packer, it felt like the corner was the “same old Lion” that got picked on.

It seemed like whoever Robertson covered was automatically Aaron Rodgers’ best receiver. The defensive back was picked on for first down after first down, whether he covered DK Metcalf, Scotty Miller, Darnell Washington, or Adam Thielen.

DUD: S Thomas Harper

Harper retained his role as Kerby Joseph’s fill-in, but it appeared that Harper would be keeping that title for the remainder of the season after Joseph got added to injured reserve over the weekend.

On Sunday, however, Harper did not help his case. While he did force a redzone fumble from Darnell Washington, it was downhill from there.

On a pair of Jaylen Warren 45-yard touchdown runs, the safety was caught crashing inside instead of worrying about outside contain. Warren easily took advantage and dashed in for a score both times. Ultimately, those 45-yard scores and Pittsburgh’s 200 rushing yards hurt the Lions more than any official or call on field did to end the game.