Lions take ownership, don't blame refs after late penalty crushes playoff hopes: 'That's on us'
- - Lions take ownership, don't blame refs after late penalty crushes playoff hopes: 'That's on us'
Chris Cwik December 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
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Down five points, the Detroit Lions had one more play to try and secure a comeback win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16. There was a lot at stake, as a loss would sink the Lions' playoff hopes.
On the game's final play ... chaos erupted. Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown caught a pass short of the goal line, but then lateraled the ball to quarterback Jared Goff before being tackled. Goff ran the ball into the end zone for a possible game-winning touchdown, but there were flags on the field.
After a lengthy, lengthy chat involving all the officials, it was determined that the Lions scored on the play, but that St. Brown committed offensive pass interference before that touchdown. As a result, the touchdown was taken off the board and the game was over. The Lions lost, crushing their postseason chances.
It was an incredibly frustrating way to lose a game and — given everything at stake — you might expect that the Lions were none too happy about the final call that resulted in them losing the contest.
But that's not the case. After the game, Lions coach Dan Campbell took responsibility for the loss, saying the team should not have put itself in a position where it needed a last-second play to win the game, per ESPN.
"We weren't able to close it out. And at the end of the day, that's on us," Campbell said. "We did that. We're the ones who put ourselves in that position to where we had to try to score on the last play."
Quarterback Jared Goff took a similar track. While he said he disagreed with an earlier call that wiped a Lions touchdown off the board, Goff admitted the Lions have been beneficiaries of that type of call in the past.
"[The officials] have a hard job, and I don't want to make any excuses or anything like that. We've been on the right side of a lot of these, and we've been on the wrong side on a lot of these," said Goff, who threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns. "I think a few plays prior, the one on [Isaac] TeSlaa was a little bit more in my head up for interpretation, but listen, man, they're going to make the calls, and I promise you if I was sitting on the other side of that right now, we'd be saying, 'Great job,' but those sting for sure and you wish they weren't called, but so be it."
Earlier in the drive, the Lions appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown on a pass to St. Brown. But the officials ruled that TeSlaa set a pick on a defender, which allowed St. Brown to be wide open in the end zone. That touchdown was also taken off the board, leading to the Lions' last-ditch attempt ... which was also taken off the board for offensive pass interference.
The loss makes it really hard for the Lions to make the playoffs now. Following the loss, the team sits at 8-7, with an 8% chance of securing a spot in the postseason, per NFL.com. For the Lions to get in, the team would need to win its next two games. The Lions play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 and the Chicago Bears in Week 18. But Detroit would also need the Green Bay Packers to lose their final two remaining games. The Packers play the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 and the Vikings in Week 18. While that's possible, the odds are against Detroit.
It's been a disappointing season for the Lions. Despite once again posting excellent offensive numbers, the Lions have already lost five more games compared to last season. After securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC last year, the Lions sit in third place in the NFC North and could fall to fourth place in the division before the year is over.
If the Lions lose to the Vikings on Christmas, Detroit would fall behind Minnesota in the division. The Vikings won the earlier matchup against the Lions, beating Detroit 27-24 in Week 9.
That's a far cry from where the Lions thought they would be at the start of the season. Detroit entered the year as one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFL. Finishing third — or fourth — in their division would be a massive disappointment.
Despite that, the Lions are in pretty decent shape moving forward. Many of the team's key players are set to return in 2026. And if the Lions wind up playing an easier schedule next season, the team could find itself back on top of the division before long.
The 2025 NFL season has definitely been a letdown, but the Lions' time at the bottom of the division looks temporary.
Source: “AOL Sports”
