| The Detroit News
Here are four observations after having a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
First down
OK, let’s talk about the officiating, since seemingly coming out of every close loss, particularly to the Packers, it’s a focal point.
While there’s plenty to nitpick weekly, particularly with the benefit of watching a broadcast with slow-motion and multiple replay angles, let’s closely inspect four of the bigger moments from the game.
We’ll look at them chronologically, starting with a no-call at the end of the first half.
►In no man’s land with only a few seconds remaining, quarterback Matthew Stafford was able to somehow get the Packers to jump offside, giving the Lions a free play to take a downfield shot without consequence.
Stafford lofted a high-arcing deep ball to rookie Quintez Cephus, but the safety in coverage, Adrian Amos, who had a step on the receiver, intentionally slowed down and extended his arms wide, preventing Cephus from having an opportunity to make the play.
The rule, as written, states it’s illegal for a defender to “significantly hinder an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.” Amos clearly did this, but both officials with eyes on the play opted to not throw a flag.
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You can’t help but wonder if this was situational officiating, a reluctance to assess a 56-yard infraction that would lead to points at the end of the half. This is the downside of the NFL’s pass interference being a spot penalty, even though there’s been little movement on changing the rule in recent years.
Regardless, a flag should have been thrown, allowing the Lions the option of one shot at the end zone from the 1-yard line or a chip-shot field goal before the half.
►The second situation occurred early in the third quarter, when cornerback Amani Oruwariye was flagged for defensive holding on third down, extending a drive that would ultimately end with a Packers touchdown.
This was the correct call, and obvious watching the game live, but the broadcast did fans no favors by both incorrectly stating the flag came out late and not showing a replay.
What really happened was Oruwariye got caught flat-footed and hooked the receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, as he passed on his vertical route. The flag was thrown immediately, despite play-by-play announcer repeatedly calling it late.
And while you might not like the call even if you had seen a replay, the crew was consistent with how they officiated defensive holding all game, calling it five times, including four flags against the Packers.
►Moving on to the fourth quarter, the Lions challenged a Marvin Jones reception near the goal line that was initially ruled out of bounds on the field. It was a ridiculously acrobatic effort near the sideline and not surprising it was ruled the way it was on the field, but the replays appeared to show Jones establish possession of the ball with both feet down.
Overturning a call requires conclusive evidence, and it seemed to be there as Fox’s officiating expert Dean Blandino stated during the broadcast.
The Lions were down 14 at the time, and even though they still managed to score a touchdown on the drive, they needed nearly three minutes of precious clock time. Additionally, quarterback Matthew Stafford was injured later in the drive.
►Finally, another booth review confirmed the ruling on the field that the Lions weren’t able to recover an onside kick in the closing minutes. The officials got this one right. While close, Miles Killebrew’s first foot came off the ground before securing possession of the ball.
Overall, yeah, the Lions were the victims of a couple bad calls that proved costly, but part of football is overcoming the officiating. The Packers were actually flagged three times as much in the game, including four infractions on Detroit’s final touchdown drive.
Additionally, after Oruwariye’s penalty, the Packers had to overcome not one, but two offensive holding calls that put them in first-and-20 situations that the Lions were still unable to stop.
Second down
Once the Lions have their new general manager and coach in place, one of the top priorities will be overhauling a defense that isn’t working. And while there are clearly going to be some salvageable pieces, it’s looking less likely by the week that linebacker Jahlani Tavai is one of them.
Deemed a scheme fit when the Lions selected him in the second round a year ago, the former Hawaii standout has severely regressed in his second season after showing some promise late in his rookie campaign.
If nothing else, Tavai should be an excellent run defender, taking advantage of his size and the way Detroit’s front is schematically designed to control gaps. But despite playing more than 50 percent of the team’s defensive snaps this season, he’s finished with more than three solo tackles just once and only one of his 37 total tackles have come behind the line of scrimmage.
He’s even worse in coverage, both because of his lack of speed and below-average spatial awareness. Aaron Rodgers repeatedly picked on Tavai on Sunday, completing all four targets the linebacker’s direction, including a touchdown to tight end Robert Tonyan.
The Lions don’t really have a long-term option they need to evaluate down the stretch. The other options — Jarrad Davis, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Reggie Ragland — are all on expiring deals. Still, if the Lions are serious about competing these last three games, they need to reduce Tavai’s role.
Third down
While it didn’t help, the way the Lions lost to the Packers also didn’t hurt Darrell Bevell’s long-shot odds to earn the coaching job full time.
First, look at the injury situation the team was facing coming into this game, missing three of their top four defensive linemen, two of their top three cornerbacks, their top receiver and their top two right tackles, forcing them to start Matt Nelson, who was playing defensive line at Iowa two years ago.
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Yet they still went toe-to-toe with the Packers, a team that blew them out earlier in the season. For everything that went wrong in the game, from the aforementioned officiating issues, to Stafford’s injury, they never quit.
It didn’t show up on the broadcast, but the sideline was going crazy after Jamal Agnew’s 71-yard return. The team still believed they had a chance in those closing minutes and fought tooth-and-nail until the end. That continues to speak well to Bevell’s influence on the roster.
Fourth down
Despite the loss, the Lions are still alive in the playoff chase. Yes, it’s a largely silly conversation, but they’re still mathematically in the thing.
That starts with winning out. Good luck with Tennessee and Tampa Bay up next. But even if the Lions pull off that minor miracle, they’d need some of the other teams in front of them to stumble.
As for the draft order, the Lions didn’t get much help there, either. Projected to pick 12th entering Sunday, they moved up one spot to 11th with the loss.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers