The Detroit Lions had an eventful Thanksgiving both on the field and off of it. After a dramatic 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears that ended up being the final straw for Matt Eberflus as the Bears head coach, star running back Jahmyr Gibbs made a big mistake.
Gibbs posted a video on social media that accidentally included a whiteboard in a Lions meeting room in the background. The post revealed a lot of the Lions' code words and protection rules on offense, which is obviously a huge problem.
Head coach Dan Campbell had a shocked reaction to Gibbs' mistake at first, but he then defiantly stated that it would not get in the Lions' way this season, according to Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket.
“I don’t really give a crap,” Campbell said, per Burchfield. “If we’re gonna lose because of code words, then we’re not good enough anyway. I think we’ll just post the whole freaking playbook and every code word we’ve got. It doesn’t matter. It’s not gonna hurt us.”
The Lions have a massive game on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers. If the Packers come out with a victory, the NFC North is very much up for grabs over the final month of the season. However, Detroit can greatly increase its chances with a victory over a division rival.
Lions managing injuries and continuing to win
The Detroit Lions continue to roll toward the top seed in the NFC despite a ton of injuries that have decimated their defense. Dan Campbell and company are cruising through the schedule and currently sit at 11-1 heading into a massive Thursday night showdown with the Green Bay Packers.
The Lions already have had to manage the devastating season-ending injury to Aidan Hutchinson that he suffered earlier in the season against the Cowboys. They brought in Za'Darius Smith to make up some of that production, but nobody can completely fill the shoes of one of the most dominant edge rushers in the league.
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Now, the Lions will be forced to work without linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who tore his ACL on Thanksgiving against the Bears and will be out for the season. Rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo is also out for the season with a knee injury that he suffered on Thursday.
They are also playing without both of their starting cornerbacks, Terrion Arnold and Carlton Davis. Arnold was active against the Bears but did not start, while Davis missed the game due to multiple injuries. Both will have a chance to play against the Packers, but neither is a given.
Despite all of this turmoil, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has done an admirable job keeping this group competitive on that side of the ball. The Bears got to them in the second half at times on Thursday, which is natural considering the amount of talent missing from the lineup. However, when you consider what the offense is capable of, this defense is still doing a very impressive job and that is more than enough for them to keep winning games.
