The Detroit Lions wrapped up their preseason slate with a 25-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, and now the 53-man roster cuts loom. Detroit has roughly 26 hours to finalize its roster, with cuts potentially starting as early as Sunday morning. The real question heading into this final preseason game was whether anyone could play their way onto the roster, and the answer is probably not. The Lions likely had their roster figured out before kickoff.

I get it. For most Lions fans, preseason games are all you get to see. Unless you were one of the lucky few who got to go to training camp, these games are your only window. I totally understand why fans weigh them heavily. But when it comes to building the 53-man roster, the third preseason game carries maybe 5% of the evaluation. It’s all about what happens at training camp, your situational drills, your 11-on-11 work. The only guy I’ve seen make a team off the final preseason game was Jake Fromm last year, and he made the practice squad.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the winners and losers.

Winners

RB Sione Vaki

Vaki didn’t even play in this game, and that’s exactly why he’s a winner. He wasn’t hurt. The Lions just didn’t need to see more from him. Every time he’s at practice, he’s getting first-team and second-team reps, constantly playing that Pacheco role. With Isiah Pacheco looking like he won’t be ready for Week 1, the one-two punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and Vaki is what we’re going to see to open the season.

RB Jacob Saylors

Saylors ran for exactly 100 yards on 17 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and has been impressive all summer. Most of the league is sitting there with bated breath, wondering if the Lions make the mistake of cutting him. I don’t think they will, especially heading into the season without Pacheco. If they somehow do cut Saylors, he’ll be on another roster within 24 hours. He’s not Gibbs, he’s not Pacheco, but he’s a good running back who’s going to get opportunity.

Edge Eric O’Neill

He showed up again. He had three pressures, one quarterback hit, and two hurries. He’s looked good all summer, and that’s why this is going to be one of the hardest cuts Detroit has to make. But where does he fit? Dan Campbell talked earlier this week about evaluating players in six-week windows. Can the player help now? Can he be better in six weeks? Can he be even better by the end of the year? O’Neill has upside, but is that upside more valuable than a veteran run-stopping defensive tackle like Ben Stille or a guy like Levi Onwuzurike? I think O’Neill gets cut, clears waivers, lands on the practice squad, and works his way from there.

DT Skyler Gill-Howard

He keeps doing stuff. He beat a double team and got a sack in this game. He’s ridiculously strong. There’s a video out there of him doing a kip-up holding a 45-pound plate. He’s making the roster, no doubt. I’m not saying he’s going to be a Pro Bowler or All-Pro right now. I’m just saying he’s going to be something. Get him out there on third downs, passing situations, and he could be a game wrecker as a pass rusher.

The Josh Dobbs paradox

Josh Dobbs is both a winner and a loser from this game. He went 15-of-19 for 128 yards and two touchdown passes. That’s the best we’ve seen from Dobbs in Detroit. Great game, no doubt about it.

But it might be too little, too late. What fans don’t see is that Dobbs has barely been participating at training camp. When he is, he’s with the third team, and he’s not really doing anything noteworthy. I came into this game without Dobbs on my 53-man roster, and even after this performance, he’s still not on it. It’s a good way to put some film out there, but I don’t think it’s enough.

Losers

Luke Altmyer

He had a rough one. He threw a really bad interception. I know Lucky Jackson was out of position, but at the end of the day, you have the ball in your hand, you have eyes, and you still threw that ball crossbody. Then came the fumble. Campbell keeps talking about not holding on to the ball too long, and that’s exactly what happened. When Altmyer finally had to make a decision, he made a bad one. Just take the sack. I think Detroit’s QB2 answer is going to come from the waiver wire after cuts happen around the league on Sunday.

Ennis Rakestraw

He got a pick, and that was cool, but you have to give a defender and O’Neill credit for pressuring the Colts quarterback into throwing a duck. The bigger issue is what happened before that. On fourth-and-6 from around the Lions’ 45, all Detroit had to do was get off the field. Rakestraw got burned for a huge play, then got burned again on the very next snap for 14 yards. Three plays later, the Colts walked into the end zone. I’ve got seven cornerbacks on my roster projection right now: DJ Reed, Roger McCreary, Khalil Dorsey, Nick Whiteside, Christian Izien, Keith Abney, and Rock Ya-Sin. I don’t see where Rakestraw fits. Dorsey is a special teams powerhouse, maybe one of the best gunners in the league. Whiteside has shown more upside. Abney has looked good splitting nickel reps. There’s just no room.

K Jake Bates

needs to be talked about, and I know Lions fans are going to hate it. This isn’t just a preseason problem. He’s been missing kicks at camp daily. Not one miss in the first week, another in the second week. Multiple kicks per day. He missed two extra points Saturday, and he had a kickoff that landed short of the landing zone, which puts your opponent on the 40. That’s like giving away a great return for free. Bates had that problem last year too, whether it was short kicks or out-of-bounds kicks. I’m not saying he’s getting cut, because I don’t think he is. But if this continues into Week 3, Week 4, the Lions are going to have to have a serious conversation about what’s going on with their kicker.