Dan Campbell: Detroit Lions 'got exactly what we deserved' in 37-23 loss to Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dan Campbell shook his head back and forth, never changing the look of disappointment on his face.

The Detroit Lions turned in their worst defensive performance of the season Saturday, allowing 320 yards rushing — their most in 24 years — in a 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers, and Campbell said after his team “didn’t look as hungry as they did.”

How, Campbell was asked, could that happen with so much on the line?

“I cannot explain that,” he said. “I can’t explain that. I know this, they come off a real tough loss against a physical team and they're a physical team. And they were not — they were going to make sure that didn't happen again, and they did that.”

The Panthers steamrolled the Lions on Saturday in a game that had major playoff implications for both teams.

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They had seven runs of 20-plus yards against a Lions defense that had allowed 167 yards rushing total in its previous three games, and D’Onta Foreman (165 yards on 21 carries) and Chuba Hubbard (125 yards on 12 attempts) both set career-highs in rushing yards to deal the Lions’ playoff hopes a significant blow.

The Lions (7-8) had won three straight and six of their past seven games to claw into postseason contention after a 1-6 start, but likely now need to win their final two games against the Chicago Bears and at the Green Bay Packers — and get help — to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

They still have about a 22% chance to reach the postseason, according to FiveThirtyEight.com, with Saturday’s late games still in progress.

The Washington Commanders and New York Giants hold the final two wild card spots in the NFC, and the Seattle Seahawks (7-8) are ahead of the Lions based on head-to-head tie-breaker.

“You get what you deserve in this league,” Campbell said. “That's why you love it. It's heartbreaking, but it's also why I love it, man. And we all love it. If you're a true competitor, we got exactly what we deserved today. I mean, by the way we played we deserved that, and just like we deserve what happened to us before that. By the way we played, we earned it. We earned what we got today, and we earned the six wins before that.”

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The Lions had played like one of the best teams in the NFL since early November, beating playoff contenders each of the past three weeks, but were listless from the start Saturday.

Hubbard ran for 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage and had a 35-yard gain after a false start on the next play.

Raheem Blackshear capped Carolina’s five-play, 78-yard opening drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Carolina scored on four of its next five possessions to build a comfortable 31-7 lead.

Playing in 20-degree weather with wind gusts that made it feel like single digits, the Lions struggled to disengage from blocks and missed tackles on defense, and had none of the turnover luck they’d enjoyed the previous seven weeks

Jared Goff led an eight-play, 60-yard touchdown drive on the Lions’ opening possession, completing third-down passes to DJ Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown on his way to the end zone, and was in position to give the Lions an early lead when he lost a fumble on the second play of the second quarter.

The turnover was Goff’s first since a Week 9 win over the Green Bay Packers.

“I don’t know what happened,” Goff said. “That’s the first time it’s happened to us all year, maybe the first time in two years with (center) Frank (Ragnow) and I.”

The Panthers recovered Goff’s fumble at their own 9-yard line and went 91 yards in eight plays for a score. Foreman had a 38-yard run on the second play of the drive, and Sam Darnold scored on an option keeper.

The Lions went three-and-out on their next four possessions while the Panthers continued to run at will.

Foreman capped Carolina’s second 90-plus-yard drive of the half, this one an 11-play, 92-yard march, with a 4-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left in the second quarter, and Hubbard had a 33-yard run a minute later to set up a Panthers field goal.

The Panthers set franchise records for rushing and total offense (570 yards) to improve to 6-9. If they win out, they will win the NFC South and make the playoffs.

Goff finished 25 of 42 passing for 355 yards with three touchdowns to tight end Shane Zylstra for the Lions, who allowed their most rushing yards since a 1998 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

“Credit to those guys,” Campbell said. “They got after was pretty good and that was that's a hard pill to swallow there. You say things, but ultimately when you play that way it falls on me. I didn’t have them ready to go and that wasn't good enough. That was a hungry team we played and we didn't look as hungry as they did. That’s the bottom line."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: Lions got 'what we deserved' in 37-23 loss to Panthers