The Detroit Lions are 1-1 through two weeks. An ugly win against the New Orleans Saints. An ugly loss against the Buffalo Bills. Lions fans are freaking out, and you can understand why. This is a fan base that wants a Super Bowl. I get it.

The thing they keep hearing from coach Dan Campbell, probably more than anything he has said in the last two to three weeks, is that they have to clean some stuff up. You see him in the locker room: “We’ll get this cleaned up.” You see him talking to the media: “We got to get a few things cleaned up.” He’s telling fans, telling the world the same thing. Got to get things cleaned up.

What does he mean by that? I know it sounds frustrating. Some Lions fans are frustrated by it. What do you mean, clean it up? How can you clean up this and that?

So I went back and watched the first two games. I came up with the things Detroit has to clean up that completely change the entire outlook of this team. They’re relatively easy fixes. Four of them. Just four little things, and the Lions would be 2-0 right now.

Saints game: The fumble and the failure to capitalize

The first half against New Orleans told the story. The Lions scored on their second drive to go up 7-0. Then they punted twice. Then they fumbled. That’s fix No. 1. Don’t fumble the ball. Simple as that. Detroit doesn’t fumble, maybe they cruise on that drive. Maybe they get a chance to go down and score a touchdown.

On the very next Saints drive, the Lions intercepted quarterback Tyler Shough. But instead of capitalizing on that interception, they came away with nothing. This is my biggest pet peeve. If you force a turnover, you need to capitalize on it. There is one thing I hate more than anything when it comes to football, and it’s watching a team force a turnover and do nothing with it. If you force a turnover, you better get down there and score, because that is how you change a game.

The second half is really more of what we’re talking about. Detroit got another interception and scored a touchdown. They forced a fumble and scored a touchdown. They were up 21-0, cruising. Life was good. Then the Saints scored. Then the Lions ran a three-play drive for five yards and punted. New Orleans scored again. Now it’s 21-14.

Fix No. 2: The holding call that changed everything

This is where you have to put your foot down. This is where you have to say, all right, screw that, we’re going to go win this game. Instead, the Lions ran a five-play, 18-yard drive with one first down and punted. The Saints kicked a field goal. Now it’s 21-17.

The next drive is the epitome of “clean things up.” The Lions cruised on an eight-play, 40-yard drive. Three first downs. They got into the red zone. They were at the 2-yard line. A defensive offside call on Chase Young had just put them on the 1. All you have to do is get in the end zone.

Then offensive lineman Ben Bartch gets called for holding. Now it’s 1st and 11. Jared Goff gets sacked on the very next play. Now it’s 2nd and 13. Vaki runs for four yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown catches a pass for four yards. Now it’s 4th and 5. The Lions played it safe and kicked a field goal.

It all starts with one thing you have to clean up. No holding call, and you’re on the 1-yard line. Jahmyr Gibbs can walk in for a touchdown from there. The Lions score, they go up 28-17. The Saints get the ball back with two minutes and 32 seconds left. This game is over. Maybe New Orleans scores and makes it 28-24. Chances are they’re not getting the ball back. It’s done.

Instead, the Saints tied it at 24-24, forced overtime, and the Lions barely survived. Correct one thing in that game and Detroit wins comfortably.

Bills game: 2 mistakes, a completely different outcome

Buffalo was even simpler. The Bills scored twice to go up 14-0. That seems bad, but it’s not the end of the world. You can come back from that. All you have to do is go down and score.

The drive started well. Gibbs ran for 16 yards on the first play, then nine more on the second. He’s rolling. Then Goff gets sacked for a nine-yard loss. It’s 3rd and 11. That doesn’t mean it’s over. At least get it to 4th and manageable and try for a conversion. The Lions are usually pretty good at those. But center Juice Scruggs had a bad snap that turned into a fumble, and suddenly it’s 4th and 22. The Lions had to punt. That’s fix No. 3.

Fix No. 4 came on the very next Bills drive. Josh Allen was driving downfield and got intercepted in the red zone by Skyler Gill-Howard off a Roger McCreary tip. The Lions were in business. But a defensive holding call wiped the interception off the board. The Bills kept the ball. On the very next play, Devin White sacked Allen, and another defensive holding flag came out. It’s an absolute killer.

If that defensive holding doesn’t happen, the Lions get the interception. They scored on the drive right after this one in the actual game. Move that scoring drive up. Now it’s 14-14. Now you’re talking about a whole different game, and that’s correcting just two mistakes.

Play it forward. The Bills score again, it’s 21-14. The Lions score on their third drive, it’s 21-21. Bills score on their fourth drive, 28-21. Detroit kicks a field goal at the end of the half, they go in down 28-24. We know the Lions scored three touchdowns in the second half. Three of their four second-half drives ended in touchdowns. They would have come out, scored at the top of the third quarter, and taken the lead.

What Dan Campbell is really saying

When Campbell keeps talking about fixing mistakes and cleaning things up, this is what he’s talking about. I came up with four things. Just four little things. If Detroit fixes them, they go differently. The Lions would be 2-0, and nobody would be as concerned about them.

Instead, they’re 1-1, and the mistakes look bad. The defensive problems would still be a problem. But I think everybody would feel a little better if they had won a shootout against the Bills. That’s why Campbell keeps saying they don’t know who they are until Week 5. Who knows where they’ll be, because by Week 5 maybe they’re a team that has learned to clean everything up.

Let’s see where it goes against the New York Jets in Week 3. Got to be clean.

Detroit Lions News

Lions fans want Brad Holmes to make the blockbuster trade really badly; 10 years of NFL history says they absolutely shouldn’t

Mike Payton 4 hours ago