DETROIT -- Even coach Dan Campbell could admit after the Detroit Lions' 31-24 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Green Bay Packers that "we've dug ourselves a little bit of a hole" at 7-5.
Campbell was honest in his overall assessment of the group as he addressed the team inside the locker room at Ford Field with their chances of winning the NFC North for a third consecutive season now being significantly slim.
"Like I told the team, 'It's frustrating, I know. We've got a lot to be thankful for even after a loss.' And look, we've dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, that's the bottom line," Campbell said. "We are in a little bit of a hole, but that's just what it is. There's nothing more than that.
"So all we've got to do is worry about cleaning up this and then getting to the next game and finding a way to win the next one in front of us."
Detroit is now 1-8 in their past nine games on Thanksgiving.
Entering the contest, the Lions were also dealing with key injuries to tight ends Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright in addition to wide receiver Kalif Raymond and starting center Graham Glasgow on offense. Then All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
Campbell thinks St. Brown could miss a week or two.
Without St. Brown, practice squad veteran Tom Kennedy stepped up to make plays on offense and special teams. Kennedy, who was signed to the Lions' active roster from the practice squad on Wednesday night, finished with four catches for 36 yards.
Rookie Isaac TeSlaa also had his third receiving touchdown this season (and fifth reception overall) on a 17-yard grab from QB Jared Goff with 7:25 left in the third quarter to cut the Lions' deficit to 24-21.
TeSlaa, a native of Hudsonville, Michigan, was a lifelong Lions fan and is currently in his rookie season as a wide receiver out of Arkansas.
However, it was fourth-year receiver Jameson Williams who carried the Lions' offense with a career-high seven receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Goff made it a point to target Williams and knew he would have a big day, especially while being undermanned. But he wasn't proud of his incomplete short pass to Williams on fourth-and-3 with 10:55 left in the fourth quarter, when the\ Lions were trying to close the gap, down 31-21.
"I've got to connect with Jamo there on the one down in the red zone," said Goff, who completed 20 of 26 passes with two touchdowns. "I've got to give him a better throw, and he makes the catch. He might score right there, and the drive might be over. That's the one that will hurt me for a while. Then, yeah, they can rip it on their fourth downs and tip your cap. I thought they played really well."
Detroit failed on fourth down conversions twice against the Packers and is now 0-for-7 on fourth downs since Week 11, which is tied for the most attempts in the league, and by far the most attempts without a conversion (the Jets are the next closest at 0-3), per ESPN Research.
Campbell took over playcalling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton in Week 10 and feels he "can always be better" in that role.
Detroit entered the Thanksgiving Day game averaging 29.6 points per game but have now lost four of its past seven games for the first time since the 2022 season.
"Ultimately, look, we didn't win the game. But as far as the way that I wanted to play that game offensively, that was the vision I had for it," Campbell said. "We just got to convert.
"Those first two series that we had, we've got to find a way to convert on third [down] and then the fourth downs. So you're talking about two or three plays, ultimately, against a good team, in that moment that made the difference."