T.J. Lang joins Costa and Jansen to recap the Lions' 42-48 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
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00:00Been a minute since we've done one of these Monday shows following a Lions loss.
00:05TJ Lange in studio.
00:06Bad Monday.
00:07I know.
00:08How does this work?
00:09You guys call and yell and complain and we fire coaches, is that what happens after losses?
00:13No.
00:14No.
00:15We call and yell, but no.
00:1612-2.
00:17Still in the driver's seat for the one seed.
00:20But TJ, that defense was bad.
00:22Let's just start.
00:23What did you take out of that game?
00:24You know what?
00:25And the offense was bad early too.
00:28I mean, you had 14 points until two minutes left in the third quarter in a shootout.
00:36Both sides.
00:37I mean, I think I learned yesterday that you can't—we've seen them have a couple duds
00:41this year.
00:42Right?
00:43I think the Houston game was a bit of a dud offensively, but you were good enough to beat
00:48that team.
00:49Even Thanksgiving, a little bit of a dud against Chicago with all the failed red zone trips,
00:55but your team was good enough to beat them.
00:57I think, obviously, yesterday we learned you can't afford to have a dud against another
01:00premier team in the NFL.
01:02You're just going to dig yourself too deep of a hole and not going to be able to come
01:05back from it.
01:06So yeah, the defense was rough, obviously.
01:09I mean, no pressure on Josh Allen.
01:12If he told me Ty Johnson was going to be one of Buffalo's best offensive players, I would
01:16have probably felt really good about that game.
01:19But they couldn't find a way to cover anybody, get any pressure.
01:21The run defense was, I think, a major surprise because they had been doing such a great job
01:27against running backs all season long, and yesterday just—it looked way too easy.
01:32You know what I mean?
01:33It just looked way too easy.
01:34And I know that when you play a guy like Josh Allen, it can take you out of your rhythm
01:38a little bit.
01:39It can take you—it can make you an undisciplined player when, hey, I'm supposed to be here,
01:42but if I go this way, maybe I can help a little bit.
01:45That's how you get burned.
01:46I think we saw that a bunch yesterday.
01:48In the first two drives of each half offensively, you know, three punts and a fumble in a time
01:54where—especially in the second half, it's like, OK, we got to go.
01:58You know what I mean?
01:59Like, we got to go.
02:00We can't come out of the halftime and let up a touchdown and then go three and out and
02:03then get the ball back and then fumble, and all of a sudden we're down 35-14 to that team.
02:08You know what I mean?
02:09That's not how you got to play.
02:10And I thought Coach was right.
02:12I thought the players were right when they said, didn't seem like a lot of urgency yesterday.
02:16I don't know why that is.
02:19That's something internally they're going to have to address, but that's something I
02:21noticed too, and we kept saying it throughout the course of that game.
02:25The Bills looked like they were just playing at a different speed.
02:27They just looked faster.
02:29They looked more athletic than the Lions did.
02:31And I think that was the first time all season that I felt that, that the other team, you
02:37know, just was playing at a higher level, playing at a faster pace of play, playing
02:42with more urgency, playing with more tempo.
02:45And obviously all those things added up to too deep of a hole for you to dig out of by
02:49the end.
02:50And it wasn't as close as the six point.
02:54It wasn't.
02:55It really felt like, it felt like the only time they got back in that game where it's
02:58like, okay, maybe like was the 12 minute mark and then the onside kick and then five seconds
03:04later you're back down 17 and it's like, gosh.
03:07Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way.
03:09No.
03:10You wouldn't expect that to happen on an onside kick, even if they know it's coming and the
03:13whole stupid kickoff rules and you've got to announce it in the fourth quarter.
03:17You still wouldn't expect a guy to catch it like that and take it to the two yard line.
03:21But even that call, I mean, we were all, everybody was questioning it, right?
03:25Because it's like, okay, you're still going to need a stop no matter what.
03:28But if you're Dan Campbell, I mean, had your defense stopped Buffalo from getting to midfield
03:33that entire game?
03:34I don't think they did.
03:35Right?
03:36So I think in your mind, you're thinking, hey, okay, if we don't get it, I mean, at
03:39least we're going to save some time.
03:41The time that it's going to take them to March from the 30 to the 50, maybe we can
03:45save that time because we haven't stopped them yet.
03:47So either way, we're going to probably need a stop around midfield.
03:51So if we don't get the onside kick, you're right.
03:53I mean, I just, obviously you didn't expect them to have a big return off of that to set
03:57up a one play touchdown.
03:59Damn it.
04:00Yeah.
04:01I think that was the collective, like just comedy of error, just, oh gosh, like, okay,
04:06you know, like the worst possible thing that could happen is that.
04:09Yeah.
04:11Yeah.
04:12But I don't, I mean, I don't think my confidence has changed in this team.
04:14Obviously we can talk about, you know, how injuries aren't an excuse, but at some point
04:18it's just reality.
04:19I mean, at some point.
04:20But then if it is reality, but then, but then TJ, it's a bummer, but if it is a reality,
04:24then it is a reality beyond just Sunday.
04:25I mean, I don't think it's unfair to say that it's concerning with how many players they've
04:30lost.
04:31Um, and you know, I probably going to find out today, I know those guys are going to
04:35need some, uh, testing done, but certainly didn't sound optimistic at all about either
04:41of those guys or Ali McNeil.
04:43We know Khalil Dorsey is going to be done.
04:45I think coach made that pretty clear, but at some point it's reality, man.
04:48And you know what I mean?
04:49Like it's, it, there's only so much, I think the depth players on your team can do, especially
04:54with the caliber of players that you're losing, um, your best, probably your best two defensive
05:01linemen, your best linebacker, uh, your best cover corner.
05:05You know what I mean?
05:06Like, I don't want, it's not an excuse, but it's reality.
05:09Ali McNeil.
05:10And you bring up Carlton Davis and I just feel like your confidence should be shaken
05:14some from that.
05:15Right.
05:16I mean, they, they, they got their ass handed to them.
05:17To your point.
05:18It wasn't as close as the score indicated.
05:19They're down 14, nothing from the jump 17 points in the fourth.
05:22They were never in it.
05:23Yeah.
05:24But you know what?
05:25But the players you, we can sit here and say, okay, was it as close as the six point game?
05:31No, absolutely not.
05:32But the players you go in there and I know, look, you got punched in the mouth a little
05:34bit yesterday, but, and John, you know, this, anytime you go in on a Monday, when you watch
05:38a game like this, you honestly, you look at like one or two plays like, man, if that would
05:43have went our way, like that game could have been different.
05:45You know what I mean?
05:46You don't go in there saying every single play we got punched in the mouth, man, we're
05:50just getting bullied around maybe on defense because it felt like that.
05:53But I think the offense, which honestly our expectations for that offense are much higher
05:57than the defense based off.
05:59I think just the personnel that they have, I think that's fair.
06:02So the guys on offense, I know probably go in today and just probably feel like they
06:05lost that game for the team, right?
06:06If it's going to be a shootout, Hey, we got to, we got to help our defense out a little
06:09bit more.
06:10We can't afford all these empty possessions.
06:12We can't afford split, you know, putting two touchdowns on the board for the first three
06:16quarters of that game.
06:18But really when it comes down to it, it's no panic mode.
06:21You look and you say, okay, a couple third downs here and there, man.
06:24I think if we just, you know, block it up a little bit better, a little bit detailed
06:27on that route, that could be a big play in that game.
06:30So I don't think there's any panic mode when it comes, you know, from internally in that
06:34locker room.
06:35And when you talk about the injuries, of course you're aware of it.
06:37Of course it sucks.
06:39You know, when you're losing players of that caliber, but you got to step up, you know
06:43what I mean?
06:44Like you don't have time in the NFL to sit there and just sulk about it and just, oh
06:49man, I can't believe we lost another guy.
06:50You're like, it's just guys, we, we got to figure it out, man.
06:53We're professionals.
06:55And we still, in my opinion, have, I think the best top to bottom roster in the NFL.
07:00Now they're going to have to rely on a lot of guys that haven't had a ton of experience,
07:04but you're here for a reason.
07:05I think those guys have to understand that.
07:06I was going to ask you, you can say sports books don't matter.
07:08I just want your answer.
07:09Are they the favorite to win the Superbowl today?
07:13Probably not.
07:14I mean, you just lost to them probably.
07:15Forget about, forget about FanDuel or any of these, like you, TJ Lang, are the Lions
07:20the favorite?
07:21So I think they're Superbowl contenders?
07:22No, no, no.
07:24Do you think they can or do you think they will?
07:26I think they can.
07:27Okay.
07:28Yeah.
07:29I think they're Superbowl contenders.
07:30Yeah.
07:31Okay.
07:32John is still in the will category.
07:33I still think they will.
07:34I just, I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm not going to sit here and say I expect them to
07:36because then it's like, well, if they don't win it, the season's a failure, which I don't
07:39really.
07:40But TJ, I don't want to ascribe to that either, but a week ago we were saying they will win
07:44the Superbowl.
07:45They're invincible.
07:46Double digit disco.
07:47That's like Dan Campbell saying, we will recover this onside kit.
07:49You know what I mean?
07:50Like it's incredibly difficult to do.
07:51Do you have the talent to do it?
07:53Do you have the team to do it?
07:54When you play your style of football?
07:55Yes, you do.
07:56TJ, I'm not going to count them out.
07:57Sure.
07:58I'm not going to count them out.
07:59The way they responded when they lost Aiden Hutchinson spoke volumes, right?
08:02The fact that this team is 12 and two and they still control their own destiny.
08:04I'm not counting them out, but boy, was that sobering.
08:07Like that was, you know, we're sitting at a party and having a good time.
08:10You know what?
08:11But honestly, I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing that could happen to this team,
08:15you know?
08:16And I heard you guys talking about it a little bit on the drive in, like sometimes you need,
08:20you can turn this into a positive, right?
08:22A wake up call.
08:23Hey guys.
08:24I don't like the concept of that was a good loss or you needed to lose, but it's what
08:29they do with this loss.
08:30How does it shape what Aaron Glenn does when they face Minnesota at the end of the year
08:35or when they face Philly in the playoffs or if they face Buffalo again?
08:41Like how do they respond to what just happened yesterday?
08:44I don't hate that they're going through some adversity at this point of the season.
08:47You know what?
08:48I don't hate it because I've seen Dan Campbell and I've seen this group respond when they've
08:55had some adverse moments in the past two and a half years, right?
09:00And that's what excites me is, you know, how are they going to come out of this game?
09:04Finding a way to get better and finding a way to get back on track where all of a sudden
09:08next Monday we're sitting here saying, ah man, like, okay, we're back.
09:11Like, you know what I mean?
09:12Like this team's doing it.
09:13Obviously it's going to take a lot of hard work, but I have a tremendous amount of faith.
09:17Like all of us should Dan Campbell, turning it back around and getting those guys back
09:21on the right, on the same page.
09:23So just the math on Jim Superbowl question though, they dropped 61% since 21 or since
09:29four 25 yesterday, 61% from two 70 to four 40.
09:33It was an eyeopening loss.
09:34Just count them out.
09:35No, that's not what we're doing right now.
09:38I'll tell you what, what they've done is you've got four teams right now that are less than
09:42plus 500 to win.
09:43It's open.
09:44They, they're protecting themselves with these four teams and they don't think anybody else
09:48can win it.
09:49It's a four horse race and you're one of the horses are so much a part of this.
09:52Like don't, don't tell me the odds.
09:54Don't tell me the odds.
09:55It's such a player's perspective.
09:56Don't tell me the odds.