The Lions looked unprepared for a must-win game today in Cincinnati, and as a result they’re not going to the playoffs. Now the only question is whether Jim Caldwell has coached himself out of a job.
The Bengals, with nothing to play for, out-played the Lions in the second half and came back from an early deficit to win 26-17.
Detroit’s last, best opportunity went up in smoke on a third-and-28 with four minutes left in the game, when Matthew Stafford threw a deep ball to Golden Tate, who leapt for it, grabbed it, fell to the ground, bobbled it, grabbed it again, and then had it knocked out of his hands. It was ruled incomplete on the field, but it was a very close call that might have been overturned on replay. Caldwell declined to challenge it.
That might have been the last significant decision of Caldwell’s head-coaching career. There’s been talk in Detroit that Lions G.M. Bob Quinn, who inherited Caldwell when he took the job two years ago, wants to hire his own guy. This loss might make Quinn pull the trigger.
The Bengals are long since out of playoff contention, but they played hard for Marvin Lewis today. Caldwell can’t say the same for his team.
