Lions Back Into Playoffs, But Don't Expect Them To Win Saturday

     It's hard to argue that this is a football team deserving of a postseason bid.

     Certainly the last three weeks wouldn't indicate as much.

     With their fate firmly in their hands, assured of the NFC North title with just one more win, they crumbled.

     And yet, the Detroit Lions are playoff bound, if only because a Dan Snyder-owned football team once again underachieved, one of few things you can always count on in the NFL. Sunday's win for the Giants made it official before kickoff at Ford Field that night, and the Lions came out and played like they had something to prove... for the first two quarters.

     After the half, however, it was almost as though a completely different football team had replaced them.

     Whether it was the coaching staff failing to make adjustments or simply playing not to lose, the third quarter saw the Lions with a total of eight offensive plays and no points, as the linebackers and secondary (save for Darius Slay, who managed to keep Jordy Nelson off the scoreboard) had no answers for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' offense and the worst pass defense in the league played like it. Zach Zenner shined in the first half, then disappeared in the second, much like the week prior, which is more an issue with the coaches then Zenner. Matthew Stafford played well, save for a few miscues, missing a wide-open Golden Tate early on and nearly throwing a pick-six to Clay Matthews. But when you're facing a QB like Rodgers that stymies defenses like Detroit's and simply doesn't make those kinds of mistakes, the margin for error is a thin one.

     But, despite their best efforts, the Lions are headed to Seattle this Saturday for what figures to be another one-and-done playoff appearance, the second of Jim Caldwell's tenure in Detroit. The diehards among this fanbase, however, will tell you that a win at CenturyLink Field is entirely possible, citing a couple prior Super Bowl champions, the 2009 New Orleans Saints and the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, that also tanked to finish off their seasons.

     This, of course, is a ridiculous argument on a couple different levels.

     For one, it's not just the last three weeks that should inspire doubt in this team; the Lions haven't beaten anybody of consequence this year. Not a single win over a playoff team or a team with more than eight wins this season, and they only have only two of them, both against the Packers, in the time Caldwell has been coaching here. Taking on the Seahawks in Seattle, where they've only lost one game this year, doesn't look to go well at all for them. In four of the last five seasons, including this one, the Seahawks have lost one or fewer games at home. Even going up against a mediocre offense like Seattle's, Detroit's defense simply isn't good at all. If you're a fan of advanced metrics, the Lions rank 27th in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. Their offensive line is essentially being held together by duct tape and chewing gum. Even with the emergence of Zenner, this team still desperately misses Theo Riddick, who could be counted on to bail Stafford out under pressure. Even for a Seattle defense missing Earl Thomas, there's plenty of holes to exploit here.

     And any comparisons to the '12 Ravens and the '09 Saints are ludicrous. The Ravens beat two other playoff teams, and a few others with records of .500 or better, during the regular season, and they won their second-to-last game of the year. Hardly a comparison to this team. As for the '09 Saints, they started the year 13-0, beat three other playoff teams and two others with winning records in the regular season. And while one of those late-season losses was to bottom-feeding Tampa Bay, they destroyed that same Bucs team earlier in the year. They didn't back into the playoffs; they clinched the top seed in the NFC well before. This isn't even close to what the Lions did this year.

     Of course, the excuses are already being made for this team; the officials were just announced, and they've apparently already blown this game for the Lions. Seems to be a reflex (or perhaps a coping mechanism) from being a long-term fan of this team; before the game is even played, start looking for a reason for the inevitable loss to not be the fault of the team or coaching staff.

     Is the season a success if this team advances no further? Maybe if you're going by lowered pre-season expectations, but otherwise, it's hard to make a case for it. Going out losing four in a row would suggest this team never belonged in the playoffs at all, and that the late-game comebacks earlier in the season were due more to a combination of good luck and inferior competition.

     The Lions won't be seeing any more of the latter this year.

     And all indications are that they've run out of the former.