Lions’ Playoff Hopes Ride on the Trenches-Again
For the Detroit Lions, it’s always been about the trenches. That’s been the story for the past three seasons-and it’s the story now, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
When the offensive line is paving lanes and the defensive front is stuffing the run, Detroit looks like a team built to make noise in January. But when they get pushed around up front, the wheels tend to come off fast.
Now, with three games left in the regular season, the Lions find themselves in a familiar spot: needing to win out and get a little help to sneak into the postseason. And once again, it’s trench warfare that will decide whether they get there or not.
Defensive Front Must Tighten Up
The Lions’ Week 15 loss was a classic case of losing the battle at the line of scrimmage. Detroit gave up 159 rushing yards, and it wasn’t just the raw total-it was how they gave them up. They were outmuscled, out-schemed, and out-executed up front.
Head coach Dan Campbell didn’t mince words after the game. He put the blame squarely on the defense’s inability to control the ground game.
“We said going into that game, on both sides of the ball, it was ground supremacy,” Campbell said. “We did not own the ground, and that makes it extremely difficult defensively to defend those guys if you cannot corral or limit their run game.”
He pointed out how the opponent used motion, tight end inserts, and misdirection to force Detroit’s corners into run support and challenge the edges of the defense-areas where Detroit wasn’t sharp enough.
“Just all these little things that we’ve got to be much crisper on,” Campbell added. “We’re going to get it from Pittsburgh. That’s what they do.”
And he’s right to be concerned. This season, the Lions are 6-1 in games where they hold opponents under 100 rushing yards.
When they can’t do that, they’re a different team. Last year, Detroit was one of the league’s best at stopping the run.
This year, that identity has slipped. They’ve allowed over 100 yards rushing in six games, and the results have been predictably shaky.
If Detroit wants to stay alive, the defense has to get back to basics-win at the point of attack, set the edge, and force teams into second-and-long. That’s the formula that worked last season, and it’s the only one that gives them a shot now.
Offense Needs Ground Control, Too
It’s not just the defense that needs to reassert itself in the trenches. Offensively, the Lions have been explosive at times, but they’re not truly in control of games unless they’re running the ball effectively.
Take the game against the Rams. Detroit racked up 396 yards and 34 points-on paper, a strong offensive showing.
But they only managed 70 rushing yards. That lack of balance kept them from controlling the clock and keeping a high-powered Los Angeles offense off the field.
Campbell knows it, too.
“Offensively, we just got to get our run game going,” he said. “We got to find a run game here and reduce the stress in some of the pass game protection stuff.”
It’s not just about time of possession. When the Lions run the ball well, everything else opens up-play-action becomes more dangerous, pass protection gets easier, and Jared Goff has more time to operate.
The numbers back it up: Detroit is 8-0 this season when they rush for over 100 yards. When they’re held under that mark, they’re 0-6.
That’s not coincidence. That’s identity.
Gibbs and Montgomery Hold the Key
The Lions have two dynamic backs in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and when either one of them gets rolling, this offense becomes a different animal. But when both are clicking? That’s when Detroit looks like a team that can hang with anyone.
The formula is clear: establish the run early, stay ahead of the sticks, and let the offensive line do what it does best-maul people.
Three Games, One Path
The Lions’ final three games come against the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears. All three bring physical defenses and a commitment to the run game-exactly the kind of matchups that will test Detroit’s toughness up front.
To have any shot at the playoffs, Detroit has to win all three. That means dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If they can do that-if they can get back to being the team that controls the ground game and dictates tempo-then there’s still a path forward.
But if they get pushed around in the trenches again, that path closes fast.
The mission is simple. The execution? That’s where games-and seasons-are won or lost.