Why did the Lions Miss Super Sunday Game

The Lions won't be playing on Super Sunday, and it's clear why: a lack of roster depth held them back this season. Building a stronger bench is crucial to avoiding similar letdowns next year. Without it, the Dan Campbell era risks being remembered solely as a major disappointment.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Dan Riley for Sports Talk. The frankly heartbreaking
sight of Dan Campbell in tears at his press conference
is a reminder the Detroit Lions are not the nineties
Cowboys yet, and also that you only get so many

(00:21):
chances to win a Super Bowl. Once again, Lions fans
face heartbreak, just like a year ago. It's also a
reminder of losing the nineteen ninety one NFC Title Game
and other similar losses. The Lions super Bowl window hasn't closed,

(00:49):
but it isn't as open as it was a year ago.
Jared Goff won't be around forever. He's getting old, and
Martha Ford is not as forgiving as her late husband was.
This team needs to get to work. The truth is
the Lions had no backups. You remember a few months

(01:14):
ago when I pointed out the consequences of Aiden Hutchinson's injury.
The year ended with sixteen Lions winding up an injured reserve.
There was no roster depth to this team. Telling that

(01:34):
backups keep a team in position to win a Super
Bowl when the starters are injured, the Lions didn't have
a roster like that. This offseason. The Lions don't have
to worry about their starters. They're there, They're gonna have
to worry about getting some backups. A Super Bowl, Earth.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Depends on it. Many many teams in the NFL had.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
To kiss a Super Bowl goodbye because a star got
injured and the backup wasn't enough to keep the good
times rolling. The Patriots the year Tom Brady tore his
acl our prime example, the year Randall Cunningham broke his

(02:37):
leg and the Eagles had to kiss a Super Bowl goodbye,
or another example. The hard truth is the Lions made
a mistake only focusing on getting stars into town and

(03:00):
forgot that you need serviceable backups. There's a reason teams
are always looking for a backup quarterback. Well, now the
Lions need to worry about getting back up defensive linemen,

(03:21):
backup running backs, backup linebackers, the whole deal. As talented
as that team is, the Lions really only have to
worry this offseason about getting backups good enough to keep

(03:42):
the production up when the team is winning. If they
fail in this, the Dan Campbell era will be remembered
as nothing more than a huge disappointment. This is Dan
Lely for Sports Talk. Thank you so much for tuning

(04:02):
in and so long