Lions-Seahawks: Song of the game for the NFC Wild Card

It wasn’t pretty. Nobody had fun watching this one unfold. With a season filled with as much drama and excitement as the Lions’ 2016, their playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks was anything but that.

Seemingly a season of cardiac arrest all for naught, the Lions and those devoted to seeing this team take the next step should adopt a three-word mantra for the 2016 campaign.

Lions-Seahawks Song of the Game: “Let It Be”

With each of his 27 carries, Thomas Rawls seemed to find a way to make every second down more than manageable. Each carry more deflating than the last, it became apparent from the start that the Lions had no match at the second level—or even the back end of their defense—to stop the Seahawks’ ground game.

People wanted to believe that without the gatekeeper to Seattle’s secondary available, the Lions’ passing game could once again come back to midseason form. Every Lions’ drive showed promise, if not for the simple optics of seeing No. 9 under center; after all, he was the source of so much success for this Lions team. From the opening kickoff, and even up until the point that Matthew Stafford would plug a receiver in the numbers only to see the ball fall harmlessly to the turf, there was this sense of hope suspended high above our own expectations of what the outcome of Saturday’s game would eventually end up being.

Let it be

We all deal with heartbreak differently. All of us had our own way of dealing with the outcome of Saturday’s game. Some of us reflected on the season as a whole, trying to rummage through a season of highlights to find something to hold onto for comfort. Many of us were stuck wondering why this one game couldn’t have been different, why this one couldn’t have been an antidote to 25 years of pain and grief. And then there were those of us who were already looking months into the offseason, envisioning the road ahead.

And when the brokenhearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer
Let it be

There’s going to be an answer, he—or she—might already be in front of us, but it won’t become visible until we can supersede all of the fruit that hangs so low. It doesn’t lie in a tired argument of three letters. It doesn’t reside in the contention that organization is complacent with mediocrity.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Many of us are anxious about the upcoming months because if Saturday’s loss to Seattle did anything, it reminded us that there are still so many questions to be answered.

The Lions got out ahead of the inevitable chatter about their head coach by announcing he will be back for the 2017 season, but as far their roster is concerned, the Lions need to upgrade at multiple positions on both sides of the ball to avoid the problems they faced this season.

Yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be

With Bob Quinn entering his second offseason as general manager, and after a rather successful start to his tenure with the team, this free agency and draft will be critical in taking that next step. The likes of Taylor Decker, A’Shawn Robinson and Graham Glasgow were huge contributors from Quinn’s first draft, but it will be up for them to improve, and Quinn to bring in another successful class of young players in April.

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow
Let it be

There’s so much to look forward to with this team and with this organization. The goal posts have moved; the bar has been raised for the Detroit Lions. At first, it was about being respectable instead of the laughing-stock of the league. Once that was accomplished, then it was about getting into the playoffs. After being there three times over the past six years, it’s not about just making the playoffs anymore, but taking the next step and winning a playoff game.

These are signs of progress over the past decade of Lions football, but it’s going to take some time to do the things we never have, but in the meantime, let it be.

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