Why Detroit Lions Are Not Playing in Super Bowl 59

What happened to the Detroit Lions' dream season?

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell speaks to members of the media at the Detroit Lions practice facility in Allen Park | Ryan Garza / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was supposed to be the Detroit Lions appearing in Super Bowl 59.

What the heck happened to the dream season that should have seen Dan Campbell's squad appear in front of a worldwide audience?

Going all the way back to rookie minicamp and OTAs, it truly appeared that general manager Brad Holmes carefully constructed a roster that could win plenty of games in the regular season and make a deep playoff push.

But, as the injuries piled up and warts started to appear, there were several reasons why the Lions are sitting at home on Super Bowl Sunday instead of competing for a Lombardi Trophy.

Here are my thoughts on why the Lions are not playing in Super Bowl 59.

Not bold enough at the NFL trade deadline

It's true. The injuries along the defense were piling up. What made it challenging for the front office to take a big swing at the deadline was the team was still competing and winning games.

Without Aidan Hutchinson, the team rallied and was able to rattle off wins, despite losing a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

At the deadline, it was clear the team needed to add a pass-rusher. While Za'Darius Smith provided a spark, it was simply not enough to add an aging veteran and several players from other teams' practice squads.

Against the Commanders, rookie Jayden Daniels was able to neutralize Detroit's pass-rush efforts by getting rid of the football quickly and using his feet to move the pocket.

Detroit may have benefitted from additional depth in the secondary or even on offense.

Holmes and the front office will regret not being bolder at the deadline.

Injuries

Never in the history of the Lions have so many players been placed on the injured reserve list.

The defensive side of the football was ravaged by injuries, including serious ailments to Hutchinson, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Carlton Davis and Amik Robertson.

A couple of the injuries were friendly-fire from the team itself. Jack Campbell was flying around the field and taking out his own guys, too. Anzalone and Robertson, in fact, suffered broken bones due to Campbell's aggressiveness.

While the team chalked up the injuries to "bad luck" when questioned, there must be more of an effort to ensure the team is utilizing all the best information to prevent injuries as much as possible.

Detroit also suffered its fair share of MCL injuries this season.

Heading into 2025, revamping the medical training staff and conducting a thorough evaluation of each and every injury will ensure the "luck" factor swings in the Lions' direction in 2025.

Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone walks off the field due to a broken forearm injury during the first half against the Jaguars | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jared Goff came up short when the lights were the brightest

Detroit's franchise quarterback came up short in the biggest game of the season. Even though his offensive line deserves its fair share of blame, pressure from the Commanders' defense is no excuse for the numerous turnovers and interceptions from the veteran signal-caller.

Lions OnSI asked Dan Campbell what it would take for Goff to take the next step to become a Super Bowl winner.

"It's the same step for every one of us. Same step for me as a coach, for the coordinators, for him as a quarterback, for (Amon-Ra) St. Brown as a receiver, for Alex Anzalone as a linebacker, just do your job. One more game here, and then we’ll worry about the next game," said Campbell. "That’s it. You just keep playing at a high level, get us in the right play, and understand that it’s not all about you. We don’t live and die by one player, one coach, no nothing. We work as a team, as a unit, and trust the guy next to you.”

Unfortunately, the player holding the football every play on offense did not play at a high level.

Turnovers dried up

Detroit's defense unfortunately did not do enough to secure extra possessions against a hungry Commanders squad that played with nothing to lose.

Losing the turnover battle, five to zero, in the playoffs sent Detroit home far too soon, especially after a 15-2 regular season.

"We hit a drought. We hit a drought again, and even particularly in this game, we knew we were going to need some takeaways and we just couldn’t get them," said Campbell. "I thought we may get one on the long one to (Commanders WR Dyami) Brown, Kerby (Joseph) was coming over the top and I thought we were about to get that one, and then it comes away and he gets an explosive catch out of it.

"We just – we couldn’t, man, we punched at some balls, we couldn’t get them out, the interceptions, really, other than that one I just talked about," Campbell explained further. "We could never apply enough pressure to force him to get rid of the ball in a situation that was going to benefit us."

Noise

Fans understandably do not want to really blame Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson for the Lions losing.

However, ask yourself this simple question: Was that really the absolute best gameplan offensively and defensively put together by the Lions?

Nobody is going to question the effort level by both coordinators, but their pursuit of other opportunities was noise a team seeking its first-ever Super Bowl did not need at all.

The Lions are not a team that has a legacy of appearing in and winning Super Bowls.

In order for them to get over the hump, each and every member of the organization must put aside their own personal desires for the greater good of the team.

It is my belief that the distractions -- the noise surrounding the Lions' coordinators -- combined with the Commanders' staff handling the noise better contributed to the upset at Ford Field.