Last year’s Wild Card Round clash between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams was one of the most exciting and thrilling games of the year. The 2024 sequel certainly didn’t disappoint. It took overtime to decide the game in Week 1, but thanks to a coin toss and an impressive run game, the Lions emerged victorious and are now 1-0 to start the year.

But despite the win, it was far from flawless. If the Lions want to make a deep postseason run, they’ll have to perform better than they did Sunday night. The season is still young, with plenty of time for growth and improvement. Can the Lions fix these mistakes and become the Super Bowl threats they want to be?

Today’s question is:

Do you feel better or worse after the Lions’ Week 1 win?

My answer: I feel worse.

The Lions walked away from a close contest with a win, and you can never feel bad about another tally in the win column. That said, the Lions have some glaring issues that need to be addressed if they want to maintain their status as an elite team. This kind of performance should be a hiccup, not the norm going forward.

The biggest issue for me is the lack of production from targets not named Jameson Williams. Last season, the Lions prided themselves on having a versatile offense that could be beaten in a myriad of ways. The Lions did that against the Rams thanks to speed (Williams) and power (David Montgomery), but it wasn’t always pretty. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta were largely afterthoughts. The turf monster claimed multiple Lions players throughout the night, but that alone doesn’t excuse the lack of separation. Kudos to the Rams for honing the Lions’ top weapons, but the Lions need to get more production out of their stars. If a player like Tim Patrick can be integrated into the offense soon, it could add an element of size they sorely lack.

It was also a mixed night for the pass rush, and it reiterated a concern we saw in 2023. Pressure is important, and they may have forced Matthew Stafford into an interception, but the pass rush needs to finish the sack. You can give Stafford credit for playing incredibly amid the relentless pressure and Sean McVay credit for coming up with a capable counter, but the Lions also need to sack an immobile quarterback with third-string offensive linemen more than twice.

I predicted a Lions win, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy against a playoff team like the Rams. That said, the Lions can’t afford to have many coin-flip games like this.

Your turn.