Monday open thread: Do you feel better, worse, or the same after the Lions’ loss to the Bears?

We knew the winning wouldn’t come quickly, but that doesn’t make losing easier.

It was another week of football and another loss for the Detroit Lions, now one of two remaining winless teams. Being in the same conversation as the Jacksonville Jaguars is not something to be proud of. Given how the Lions have played, it’s fitting.

The Lions have failed to play a complete game all season long, and Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears was another instance of the team falling asleep for a half. In Week 1, the Lions trailed 31-10 at halftime. In Week 2, the Lions failed to score in the second half. In Week 3 and Week 4, the Lions were shutout in the first half. These inconsistencies will continue to doom this team.

If there is a positive, it’s that the Lions have been close. The team rallied late against the 49ers, they led early against the Packers, they pushed the Ravens to the brink, and they were a few missed plays away from challenging the Bears. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, unfortunately.

The Lions sit at 0-4 at the bottom of the NFC North, the NFC, and the NFL. There’s only up from here, right?

Today’s Question of the Day is:

Do you feel better, worse, or the same after the Lions’ loss to the Bears?

My answer: I feel a lot worse.

The on-field result doesn’t concern me too greatly. Wins and losses are fairly meaningless outside of draft positions—I hate saying that, but I just can’t imagine these Lions competing in 2021. Losing to the Bears never feels good, but it has the benefit of keeping Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace employed a week longer.

The reason I feel a lot worse is injuries, and none hurt quite like Romeo Okwara. The Lions pass rusher, arguably their best defender, appears to have suffered an Achilles injury. Including Jeff Okudah, that’s two of the team’s most important defenders out for an extended period with an Achilles injury. Trey Flowers missed another game with injury, and when you include Ifeatu Melifonwu, Da’Shawn Hand, and Kevin Strong, the defense looks like a MASH unit.

Frank Ragnow also left the game with a toe injury that could cause him to miss time. Rookie Penei Sewell was limping a bit as well, adding to a battered offensive line already missing Taylor Decker. The Tyrells, Williams and Crosby, are already on the Injured Reserve, so any more injuries to the offense could be a challenge.

The injury to Okwara in particular is a brutal blow. The major concern when Okudah got hurt was that Achilles injuries are difficult to come back from. Now the Lions have to worry about two players with the same injury. This was always going to be a throwaway season, but suffering long-term injuries like these are among the worst possible outcomes for Detroit. Not only do the Lions lose one of their best players, but there is a chance he isn’t the same when he returns.

To me, that’s the real disaster from Sunday’s game.

Your turn.