The Detroit Lions took a 1-3 record into Sunday's Week 5 game against the New England Patriots but all three of those losses were by four points or fewer.
Closing games has been a challenge for the Lions, but at least they were competitive to the end. That wasn't the case at Gillette Stadium on Sunday -- not even close.
The Lions were shut out for the first time since 2020 in a 29-0 defeat to a Patriots team starting rookie Bailey Zappe at quarterback.
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Detroit was outplayed in every facet of the game, and its offense -- which ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points scored and total yards through four games -- was shut down by the Patriots defense in dominant fashion.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave a brutally honest assessment of his team after its ugly loss in Foxboro.
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"To me, it's about as bad as it gets," Campbell told reporters. "I mean, this is worse. You know, this is where we're at. And sometimes it's going to get bad before it gets better. And, you know, I believe we hit rock bottom. So now the only place to go is back up."
"And look, we're going to get some guys back. I got to look at everything top to bottom, which I have time to do for the bye. And look, I've seen it too many times. I've been in this league too long as a player and a coach and I've seen teams that have started out rocky and it's doom and gloom, and all of a sudden they win one and then they win the next one and then they win the next one. And that's what I told them, you just got to win the first one.
"We just – when we come back, everybody's got to look in the mirror over the break. How do you get better individually? Just like I'm going to do. And we find a way to win the next one. Just win the next one out of the bye and then take the next one as it comes. That's all you can do."
The Lions are now 1-4, and any small chance they still had of making a playoff push in the NFC likely evaporated Sunday. They absolutely needed to beat the Patriots, especially against a rookie quarterback making his first career start.
Detroit has a Week 6 bye, which comes at a great time and will allow the Lions to rest and regroup after a tough stretch. But the schedule doesn't get any easier for the Lions. Their first three games after the bye week are against the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers. The Lions could easily be 1-7 after those matchups.
So, while Campbell believes the Lions have hit rock bottom after Sunday's loss, the situation in Detroit likely will deteriorate even further between now and early November.