RedRamage

That seems like a very hard penalty for Branch to take. He was going towards Robinson's chest and then Robinson ducked waaaay down and that's what caused to the helmet to helmet contact. I know in real time it looked bad so I can't fault the ref too much, but really Robinson did more to cause the helmet to helmet hit than Branch did.

As the announcers said, the people in the booth probably didn't get a good look initially I thought it might be a pick myself. The problem was that Campbell was too quick on the flag. He should have held it for a until they got a better look or the Falcons were about to snap.

I'd say mission accomplished.

Agreed. I certainly don't love the injuries, but I'm more worried about the defense just performing.

Video of Chubb injury in case you want to see it. I'll echo @Mr.TaterSalad, don't click if you're squeamish.

I don't know if I totally agree with that.

If we were going to lose someone for the season, that's the one position where I feel like we have enough depth to handle it. Walker, Branch, and Joseph will be fine, in my humble opinion. Not that I wouldn't prefer to have CJGJ around, but if we had to lose someone, that's probably the position I'd pick.

Are you talking after the 3rd down?

Campbell made a couple of comments in his presser about playing as a team, doing your assignment and having faith that the guys next to you will do theirs. "Instead of being in such a frenzy of 'I'm gonna make a play on my own'-- man -- make a play inside the scheme, inside the system that we've given you because your teammate will do the same thing."

I don't think Time Management was an issue. He may have been playing too conservatively... like "Whatever we do, we can NOT blow the chance of getting the game tie-FG." But there was no time management issue. They had timeouts, they (would have been) in the Red Zone on a first down. They would have had time to get the score.

Must win. I mean, not really... but losing in this game would really cause the fans to starting saying SOL.

In 2022, the defense absolutely improved over the season. That's objectively true. That doesn't mean the defense was good or great by the end of the year, but it was improved. In 2023 we have two samples: Sample 1: They held the defending SB champs to 316 yards. They had a key take away that provided 1/3 of the scoring for the team. They pressured the QB constantly. Yes they also got "lucky" with the drops and without having to face Kelce, but they also got "unlucky" with the OL in illegal formations and false starting constantly. Sample 2: They allowed 393 (some of which came in overtime). They were working on a short field at times, but hardly got any pressure on the QB, allowed WAY too many 3rd downs to convert and couldn't seem to cover receivers. And this while going up against a very depleted Seahawks OL. So, in 2023, the question is which game is more like the real defense? Time will tell. It honestly felt like to me that the defense just expected to be good against Seattle. They just expected that Smith would be pressured all the time and so didn't have to do much game planning. Now, this is just an uneducated fan's opinion, so take it for what it's worth.

I'm nitpicking and playing also playing with hindsight, but I kinda wondered if it might not have been better to start off with the ball instead of giving it to Seattle. Obviously I don't think we expected the defense to be that poor, but it might have been nice to march down the field and get a TD ourselves to start the game and set the pace. (Obviously there's also a chance we go 3-and-out, get the crowd grumbling, and then watch Seattle score AND get the ball to start the second half... in which case I'd be on here complaining that they should have kicked off to start...)

I didn't get that feeling at all. They had time and time outs left. They ran out of downs. I said they let time run because they wanted the FG try to be the last play of the game. Ideally I would have liked to see more than 23 seconds left, but they had time outs and would have been inside the red zone if they had gotten a First Down. That would have been enough time to score.

That's the real reason we lost right there! (I did see at least two fans with masks on.)

I just rewatched that last drive and it wasn't clock management. They had plenty of time to score but couldn't get the first down. They let like 20 second run off before kicking the FG.

Technically, yes... but the reality is that the defense didn't do **** all day today. Seattle with two tackled out, then the center goes out... and the Lions couldn't hardly get any pressure on Smith. Defense sucked balls today.

I kinda slammed Swift for only 3 yards last week, so I should give him props this week. 175 on the ground (plus 6 receiving). Wow! That's massively impressive. It's kinda funny cause you could say he averaged 89 yards per game on the ground over the last two games and people would say: "Yeah, that's pretty darn good showing for a RB these days. He had a couple of solid games there." Then you add: "Oh, yeah, but in game one he only had 3 yards."

So you're saying that if the Lions win we need to put an asterisk next to this game?

On a whim today I looked up D'Andre Swift. I get that he's not starting in Philly, but still: 1 run for 3 yards. Yikes.

Disclaimer: This is a purely speculative discussion here! I have ZERO knowledge that the Jets are interested or that the Lions would be willing. But, purely for the sake of discussion purposes: If the Jets came calling about Bridgewater, what would it take for you to consider trading? I know most of us wanted an upgrade at backup QB and most of us were pretty happy that the Lions signed Bridgewater. But I also know that he's a backup with zero plans to develop him as a possible replacement for Goff, so he's not "untradeable" if the right offer comes along. So, what's the right offer? What would make you willing to have Sudfeld move up to be the the backup?

Or like Fields, who's occasionally schemed as a QB.

That's kinda my feeling. I mean, unless Rodgers had some nagging injury his 2022 season was a very down year for him. A healthy Rodgers is maybe a good QB for the Jets, but I don't see him being great. But on a side note: If this really is the end of his career, then his last completed pass in an NFL game is still to Kerby Joseph.

The reverse. Packers have the Jets' 2nd round pick in 2024, but if Rodgers plays 60% of the snaps for the Jets then the Packers get the Jet's 1st round pick instead. So this is good news for the Lions.