The Detroit Lions went into Carolina in Week 16 as favorites to beat the 5-9 Panthers. All that good faith and trust in the Lions quickly blew away in the frigid Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers ran wild in a 37-23 win that wasn’t really as close as the final score would indicate. Carolina ran for a team-record 320 yards and relentlessly pummeled a hapless Lions defense. The score was 24-7 at halftime and Carolina extended that to 31-7 in the third quarter before the Lions “won” garbage time.
It was not the way head coach Dan Campbell envisioned the game playing out, nor any Lions fan. Detroit falls to 7-8 with the loss, snapping a streak where the Lions had won six of its last seven games. The Panthers improve to 6-9 but will win the NFC South if they win out, in control of their own playoff destiny.
Here are a few quick takeaways from the Lions loss.