Left tackle Taylor Decker has been with the Lions since 2016, so losing games on Thanksgiving is nothing new for him.
The way the Lions lost this Thanksgiving was a bit different, however. They came into the game with their first three-game winning streak since 2017 and had a 22-19 fourth quarter lead over the AFC East club. The Bills offense found its footing in the final minutes and a key third down pass by Lions quarterback Jared Goff to DJ Chark went incomplete, which led to a 28-25 loss on their home field.
When the game was over, Lions head coach Dan Campbell he feels “like we are continuing to take a step” despite the loss and Decker shared a similar sentiment when comparing these Lions to ones from previous seasons.
“This isn’t the f------ same old Lions,” Decker said, via Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News. “We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna get our respect and we’re gonna earn that respect. We came up short today, but week in and week out, we know we’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna bring it, and we’re not gonna get done. We’re gonna keep fighting, and those will turn into wins against those sort of high-caliber teams. I think we’re still trending up. I really do.”
Campbell also pointed out that the team has a small margin for error and they exceeded that margin with iffy clock management, penalties, and other missteps on the way to Thursday’s loss. Eliminating those vestiges of past teams will be the next step for the Lions to take as they work to complete their transformation.