Dear Football Gods, 

We, the people of Detroit, come before you with a simple question: 

Why us?  

What have we done? How have we angered you? What awful sin have we committed that makes you dangle a season of magnificent, gritty football promise in front of us, then yank it away like a fly on a fishing line? 

Why would you abandon our Detroit Lions so quickly — and so cruelly? What is our crime? Out of the playoffs? No more games? What are we supposed to do with all these T-shirts? 

Whatever our trespass, it must have been a whopper. Because your punishment just won’t stop. First you torture us with defeat and ineptitude, like 32 years without a playoff win, like an 0-16 season, like Matt Millen, Marty Mornhinweg, and wasted first-round draft picks such as Andre Ware and the Rogers and Rogers twins, Reggie and Charles. 

That was bad enough. But this? This may be worse. Giving us a team for the ages, then making that “age” last four quarters? One game? That’s our Super Bowl run? A single, depressing, 45-31 drubbing by the upstart Washington Commanders? 

How cruel can you get? Next you’ll be letting Ohio State play for the national championship. 

Wait a minute… 

Which Lions are these? 

Why us, Lords? Why our team? Did you see the dejected faces of the Detroit players Saturday night?  

“I’m just numb,” Alex Anzalone said. 

“(It’ll) eat me alive all offseason,” Jared Goff said. 

“It hurts,” Dan Campbell said.  

And that guy chews nails.  

Look at them, gods. They are broken, shell-shocked, wandering around as if run over by a bus on its way to D.C, wondering what happened and what to do with themselves next.  

Had the Commanders lost, they’d have been OK. They’d have congratulated themselves on a surprisingly great season, their first playoff win in many years, and the promise of their new coach and rookie quarterback. You could have made that happen.  

But no. Instead, you kiss them on the lips and throw a lightning bolt into the local guys. You make Goff, the picture of precision nearly the entire season, suddenly inaccurate, throwing two blinking interceptions at the worst of times. You make Amon-Ra St Brown fall down. You turn Jameson Williams into a quarterback, and then you make that quarterback Garo Yepremian. 

You make the Lions defense, which rose to the occasion so many times, suddenly lead-footed, incapable of tackling, sacking, or stopping fourth down conversions. 

You make the best coach the Lions have ever had somehow overlook 12 men on the field on a critical fourth down. 

“It’s my fault,” Campbell rasped about that mistake, like a man weeping over a lover he drove away. “It’s my fault…” 

Oh, the humanity. 

Also, at the risk of incurring your fury, gods, what’s with all the injuries? You take away Hutch, and Barnes and McNeil and Davis. You give us Amik Robertson’s best game in the regular-season finale, then break his arm minutes into the playoffs?  

You make David Montgomery forgo knee surgery, endure a grueling month-long rehab, just so he can come back and carry the ball seven times before going home? 

You know what? The hell with your fury. What are you going to do to us now? Take away Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn? 

Wait a minute… 

It’s not that bad …  

Seriously, gods. In the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo, you got some ‘splaining to do. Or in the immortal words of Boy George, do you really want to hurt us?  

Because in the immortal words of Dan Skipper on Saturday night: “This sucks.”  

Fifteen wins, only two losses, the No. 1 seed, the best scoring offense in football — and we’re out? No more football? This is like that episode of “The Honeymooners,” when Ralph Kramden memorizes every obscure song for weeks, then goes on a game show and can’t remember “Suwannee River.” 

One game? A two-touchdown loss? The biggest margin of defeat all year? That’s our playoffs? Do you know how stupid we feel? We canceled vacations for the month of January. We booked trips to New Orleans. Our parking lots tried charging $1,000 per spot! Jeff Daniels recorded an entire song “Say Goodbye to the Curse of Bobby Layne” — and now he’ll have to change the lyrics to “Say Hello.” 

All that for a team that gets bounced in their first game? 

It’s not fair. The whole country was behind us. We were, for once, America’s team, not America’s armpit. Now the nation is shaking its head, and likely believing that we are indeed cursed, fated like the Silver (and Blue) Surfer to ride his board around the universe, but never descend and say, “I’m going to Disneyland!” 

Enough. We’ve had enough. We’ll walk away. We can do it, you know. 

There’s always hockey. Although our team is rebuilding … 

Or basketball. Although our team is rebuilding …  

Or baseball. Although the season is months away … 

OK. You win, gods. Just tell us what we need to do. A sacrifice? A pilgrimage? Do we make the guy at Ford Field sing a different song when the Lions score? Is that what you’re trying to tell us? 

Whatever it is, please, stop this torture. Sports Illustrated picks Detroit to win the Super Bowl. ESPN picks Detroit to win the Super Bowl. Everybody in the state is finishing their sentences with “Go Lions!” — and just like that, it’s Monday morning, it’s freezing cold, football is over and everyone here feels like crying. The gods must be crazy.

Or we are.  

Wait a minute …

More: Mitch Albom: Detroit Lions’ dream ends with an improbable defeat in playoffs

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchalbom.

The New Orleans Saints have been identified as one of the top potential head coaching destinations for Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

New Orleans fired coach Dennis Allen after a 2-7 start. They finished with an overall record of 5-12 after replacing Allen with special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.

Glenn, 52, is one of six candidates that the Saints have conducted official interviews with.

• Joe Brady
• Aaron Glenn
• Mike Kafka
• Kellen Moore
• Darren Rizzi
• Anthony Weaver

Glenn and his top-seeded Detroit Lions were upset by Washington in the Divisional Round on Saturday. The good news is that the Saints and the several other teams interested in Glenn may now conduct in-person interviews with him starting on January 20.

There is also bad news with Glenn’s availability. In the loss, Detroit gave up 45 points and 481 yards of total offense to Washington. Upstart Washington was forced to punt only once as they gathered 27 first downs, averaging 6.7 per play, and converted three of four fourth down attempts.

The Lions allowed 31 points in the first half as Washington rolled up 182 rushing yards for the game, averaging 4.7 per run. Dynamic rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 299 yards and rushed for another 51 without throwing an interception or getting sacked once.

Certainly, it’s not a good look for either Detroit’s defense or Glenn. It should also be noted that the Lions offense committed five turnovers and also hurt themselves with some questionable play-calling.

Some have suggested that the Detroit loss could even hurt the coaching candidacy of either Glenn or offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

It Shouldn’t.

Certainly, the Lions played poorly against Washington. Such a performance is a reflection on both players and coaches. In Glenn’s case, what he was working with against Washington was like a person playing poker and only allowed three cards in his hand.

The Lions entered this year’s playoffs with 13 players on injured reserve. Nine of those were on the defensive side. Detroit came into their game with Washington with 12 defensive starters or major contributors sidelined by injury.

• Aidan Hutchinson, DE
• Alim McNeill, DT
• Mekhi Wingo, DT
• John Cominsky, DE
• Brodric Martin, DT
• Pat O’Connor, DE
• Derrick Barnes, LB
• Malcolm Rodriguez, LB
• Carlton Davis, CB
• Ennis Rakestraw, CB
• Emmanuel Moseley, CB
• Khalil Dorsey, CB

Additionally, the Lions also lost defensive backs Amik Robertson and Ifeatu Melifonwu to injuries during their loss to Washington.

Most coaches and players will quote a ‘next man up’ mentality when asked about injuries, adding that it’s a part of the game. However, there also comes a time when an injury-riddled team simply runs out of quality players. It’s a scenario we saw play out with the New Orleans Saints offense this season.

The Lions were without a large majority of the above listed injured players for most of this season. Detroit ranked only 20th in total defense and 30th against the pass. However, the Lions ranked fifth against the run and seventh in points allowed.

Detroit held 11 opponents to 20 points or fewer, including playoff teams Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and Minnesota. Eight times teams playing Detroit were held to fewer than 20 points.

The aggressive Lions defense also forced 24 turnovers and recorded 37 sacks. Their 16 interceptions were the fifth most in the league. Additionally, Detroit was also the NFL’s best defense on third downs and was seventh in red zone percentage.

A case could be made that Aaron Glenn did an outstanding coaching job. Especially given the circumstances of dealing with a depleted unit. A smart team would not be turned away from Glenn after one poor outing, even one in a big game.

DETROIT (FOX 2) – A juvenile was hospitalized after being shot by police during an incident on Friday night.

Detroit police struck the individual twice after he appeared to pull a firearm out after ignoring commands to stop walking.

It happened in the area of Seven Mile and Forrer Street just after 11 p.m., according to the deputy chief.

After observing a group of young men walking down the street, they stopped to investigate a possible curfew violation, Jacqueline Pritchett said. All subjects except for one stopped walking.

“As he was walking down the street, officers saw him fidgeting with his pants,” she said. “They thought they saw a firearm.”

As the individual entered an alley, he appeared to pull out a firearm, leading the pursuing officer to fear for his life and fire two shots.

He struck the individual in the wrist and leg area before being taken to the hospital. His injuries were not life-threatening.

The individual does not have a criminal history. 

An AK-47-style weapon was recovered from the scene and placed into evidence, Pritchett said.