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Jared Goff has only one victory to show for it in three games, but he has appeared much more comfortable in his second season with the Lions under new offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. With more talent around him, Goff helped the Lions reach an NFL record with a touchdown in 11 straight quarters -- the most to begin a season in league history. The team still must find a way to close games, but Goff certainly isn't the problem as he's playing much better football than he did last year.

Dan Campbell owned it. Facing a fourth-and-4 in Vikings territory with a chance to ice a huge road win by securing one more first down, the Lions coach shifted away from his aggressive strategy and sent out the kicker. One miss and a busted coverage later, and Minnesota had stolen a 28-24 win from Detroit. "I regret that decision 100 percent," Campbell said. "I really do. I hate it. I feel like I cost our team. I really do, man." The strange thing? Campbell repeatedly left his offense on the field in similar situations earlier on Sunday, converting first downs on four of six fourth-down tries. The coach got cold feet at the wrong time.

They had no business losing that game to the Vikings. This is a team that has to learn how to close out games.

Look who's pacing the NFC in scoring at 31.7 points a week. Detroit had scored a touchdown in every quarter this season before failing to get the one it really needed in Sunday's fourth period at Minnesota.

Until a scoreless 4th quarter, the @Lions had scored a TD in 18 straight quarters, the 2nd-longest streak since at least 1925.

The only longer streak over that span was 19 straight quarters, which was accomplished by Curly Lambeau's 1942 Green Bay @packers#OnePride #Lions

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 25, 2022

D'Andre Swift's injury might keep him out of the Lions' next two games, head coach Dan Campbell said, which would set him up to return after the team's Week 6 bye. With Swift, the Lions lead the league with 5.9 yards per carry and probably should be 2-1. Campbell opted to attempt a 54-yard field goal on fourth-and-4 with a three-point lead and just over a minute remaining. The kick missed and the Vikings quickly went down the field for a game-winning score. Campbell has been generally aggressive on fourth downs during his coaching tenure but has had no consistent philosophy. Ben Baldwin's fourth-down calculator rated that situation as an easy go-call, which Campbell admitted after the game he should have done.

Lions last FG attempt pic.twitter.com/j8quZCDgoB

— 4th down decision bot (@ben_bot_baldwin) September 25, 2022

"I freakin' regret my decision there at the end," Campbell said after the game. "I should have gone for it on fourth down. I told the team that we should've gone for it. So, go ahead."

Respect. With a legitimately good offense, this Lions team figures to stick around the playoff picture all season.

Detroit is one of four teams, along with the Falcons, Dolphins, and Texans, this season that's undefeated against the spread entering Week 4 and nearly pulled off a road upset over the Vikings as six-point dogs on Sunday. The bright spots are head coach Dan Campbell (duh), receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, cornerback Jeff Okudah, and a menacing offensive line. Jared Goff is playing with confidence and making the sporadic highlight-reel play, but he ranks bottom-10 in PFF's grades and 25th in EPA per clean dropback (.08). Eventually the Lions will need more from a QB than the ability to cover the spread.

The Lions blew it on Sunday. They should have gone for it on fourth-and-4 with a little more than a minute to go but decided on a 54-yard field goal instead, a decision Dan Campbell said he regrets. This is where the Lions' history is a problem. Other teams can lose a game like that and while it stings, it doesn't follow them. It'll be hard for Detroit, which deserves much more than its 1-2 record right now, to not slip into the mindset that they're just the same old Lions.

Now that they're learning how to start, the Lions have to learn how to finish.