Well, that didn’t go as planned. The Detroit Lions got wrecked 34-7 by the Chargers in the Hall of Fame Game, and while preseason losses don’t really matter, HC Dan Campbell sure made it sound like somebody messed up – and that somebody was Jared Goff‘s backup QB Kyle Allen.
Campbell didn’t name names, but when you hear him say, “First one out of the game, the story of the game is we turned it over five times,” it’s not hard to guess who he’s talking about. Allen threw two ugly interceptions in his limited snaps. And Campbell didn’t sugarcoat how much that hurt the team. “When you put your defense in that kind of position, that’s tough,” he added, making it clear that the turnovers – most of which came from the offense – put the Lions in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
Dan Campbell mentioned the five Lions turnovers right away. He did see some positives in the Hall of Fame game, notably the run defense pic.twitter.com/frbalZPMyb
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) August 1, 2025
Now, Campbell did give the defense some love, saying, “We did have two sudden change stops, it was a really good defensive play,” and praising the run defense for holding the Chargers to just 2.8 yards per carry. But then he circled right back to the offense’s struggles, pointing out, “It’s hard to get in a rhythm and turn the ball over like that.” Ouch. Allen wasn’t the only problem. The Lions fumbled three times too. But when your backup QB throws two picks in a blowout loss, the spotlight finds you fast.
Campbell wrapped up with his usual “learn from it, grow from it” coach-speak, but the message was clear: if Allen wants to keep his spot as Goff’s backup, he’d better clean things up fast. Because if turnovers keep piling up in the preseason, the Lions might start looking for someone else to hold the clipboard.
This is a developing story….
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