On the heels of yet another loss, the Detroit Lions fans are not happy. Nor should they be. Those of us who cover the team aren’t happy either.
Thursday’s 16-14 loss to the Chicago Bears, when the visitors to Ford Field walked away winners on a last-second field goal, falls squarely on Lions head coach Dan Campbell and his staff. Between a predictable and mistake-prone offense, astonishingly inept time management and playcalling with the lead in the fourth quarter, and just a general lack of inspired play from the Lions, lots of fingers are pointing at Campbell. And some of them are not index fingers, either.
Here’s a sampling from Twitter of the reaction to Campbell’s latest loss, dropping the Lions to 0-10-1.
So, out of a timeout, the Lions didn't get lined up right, called another timeout (which is against the rules so it was a penalty), then gave up the first down anyway. And then they almost got caught with too many men on the the next play.
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) November 25, 2021
Clock management in crunch time is a weekly complaint in Detroit since at least the middle of the Jim Schwartz era. Campbell rivaling Jim Caldwell for incompetence with it, unfortunately.
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) November 25, 2021
What the hell is this coverage on 3rd and 4??? pic.twitter.com/qAgSA2R3Dq
— Malcolm Bivens hate account (@__Eddie313) November 25, 2021
They play hard. They dont quit. But at some point don’t we have to sincerely wonder why there’s constant mental errors, poor clock management, incredibly passive play calling and very little fire. Lots of losses snatched from the jaws of victory. That’s a coach issue.
— Sammy’s Pop (@JayGold42) November 25, 2021
100% this. We gave Holmes a pass this off-season, but some of his moves were just spectacularly bad. And like I said earlier, even at 0-6 I had confidence in Campbell, but the last few weeks have raised massive, massive red flags. https://t.co/yAX1ATcBil
— Scott Warheit (@swarheit) November 25, 2021
Hahaha what a complete atrocity this drive has become. Love that the crowd is booing. This is malfeasance by an incompetent coaching staff. #Lions
— Ryan Schuiling (@RyanSchuiling) November 25, 2021
how do you call back to back timeouts lmao what a goofball, man. this guy has no chance of coaching a winning team even when the players are good.
— shea (@5h3a_) November 25, 2021
Jesus Christ Lions. Just horrific.
— janice (@chestnuthell) November 25, 2021
Everyone mad at DC but Aaron Glenn was an absolute disaster down the stretch.
— Brett Whitefield (@BGWhitefield) November 25, 2021
Welp, honeymoon period is officially over for Dan Campbell. Teams starting to realize he’s not a smart football mind. Charisma and heart can only take a team so far, and looks like this is it.
— t()y (@Finchty) November 25, 2021
Thanksgiving year 0. Fire Campbell. Get rid of Goff.
Lack of talent or not… absolutely abhorrent.
— Lucy’s Dad 💉💉/💉💉 (@lslats810) November 25, 2021
Once again, when any pressure is placed on the defense to make a stop, they can't. The defense looks a lot better on paper than it actually is because opponents offenses don't need to be aggressive when playing the Lions' anemic offense.
— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) November 25, 2021
If the Ford family and the @Lions do not fire Campbell by the end of this weekend I am done. This franchise just does not care. Those are mistakes a high school student could’ve avoided. WHO DOESN’T CALL TIMEOUT BEFORE THE 2 MINUTE WARNING THERE?!? Meathead coach Dan Campbell.
— Andrew Bernal (@AndrewBernal87) November 25, 2021
this is going to be an open roof dome if they run on third-and-32 again
— Benjamin Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) November 25, 2021
Second time this game where the Lions offense has been called for penalties three consecutive plays. I've probably seen this before, but feels like a new low.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 25, 2021