The top-seeded team in the NFC was bounced out of the playoffs before they ever got a chance to get going. The Washington Commanders stormed to Ford Field and bounced the Detroit Lions out of the playoffs to continue their miraculous run to the NFC Championship game.

It was a game Detroit should have won. Honestly, they only have themselves to blame for coming up short. They turned the ball over five times and didn’t force any. For a team that thrives on being greedy and stingy, they were nonexistent.

Jayden Daniels roasted the Lions secondary and the Commanders dropped 45 points on a team that had a +222 point differential on the season. It was the worst game of the season for the Lions and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

But there are no excuses for them following the loss. They didn’t play their best and it cost them in a season they were favorites to be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl when the playoffs started.

There’s many to choose from, but here are a few of the mistakes the Lions had on Saturday that cost them an early playoff exit.

The one thing the Detroit Lions did well this season was turn trick plays into big gains and even touchdowns. It’s one of the reasons why Ben Johnson is a sought after, head coach candidate this cycle.

What he’s done with the Lions and his play design, play calling and play selection has been second to none. But it was the one thing that might have cost Detroit a deep playoff run.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions trailed by 10 points and Johnson opted for a trick play that saw Jameson Williams throw a pass to Jahmyr Gibbs. The pass was short and picked off by Mike Sainristill.

Under most circumstances, this is exactly what you’d expect the Lions to do. But down 10 points in the fourth quarter where possessions are crucial this wasn’t the trick play to call. Jared Goff struggled, being responsible for four turnovers in the game. But taking the ball out of his hands there just didn’t make sense.

That’s a play that has a lot of risk and not enough reward. If the play works, how much of a genius are you for drawing up a play like that down two possessions? It just seemed a bit forced for the offense.

Johnson and the Lions offense had no shortage of trick plays in the game, but to have a wide receiver throw a pass in that situation just wasn’t smart.

Goff struggled in Saturday’s divisional round game, there’s no other way around it. He was responsible for four of the teams’ five turnovers and the most costly of his turnovers was an interception returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.

That play not only killed any momentum the Lions might have accrued after trying to bounce back from a 58-yard touchdown from Terry McLaurin. But it gave the Commanders 14 straight points a minute apart.

It was a bad pass as Goff overthrew his wide receiver high and Quan Martin returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The worst part of that is that it was taken back for a score, not even giving the Lions defense a chance to get a stop or force a field goal.

Goff has had turnover problems all season. While he went through stretches of not throwing any interceptions, he also had a game where he threw five interceptions. The Lions somehow knocked off Houston despite that.

But three interceptions in the game was never going to help the Lions win a playoff game, let alone beat the Commanders.

The turnovers from Goff were inexcusable, the blown up trick play was ridiculous. But the most costly play of the game had to be the 12-men on the field penalty the Lions got early in the fourth quarter.

The Commanders were lined up to go for it on fourth and two from the five yard line. With a stop, yes Detroit would have been pinned inside their five yard line, but they would have kept Washington off the board, keeping it a three-point game.

They never got a chance to get a stop. Those are the types of plays that cost games. And it was an unforced error, which makes that mistake so bad.

It’s not hard to make sure the right personnel are on the field. It’s somebody’s job to count the players in the huddle. If there was some confusion, which it looked like there was, they should have called a timeout.

Some on the sideline should have noticed and it got Dan Campbell to call a timeout. But they didn’t, they got flagged, the Commanders got a first down and scored the next play.

It just seemed like the mistakes piled on; one after another. A team that was disciplined all season and showed no weaknesses, folded in the biggest game of the season. For most of the game, it was exciting, thrilling and on the cusp of being a classic.

But the Lions couldn’t get out of their own way. And it cost them what looks to be their best chance to get to a Super Bowl with both their coordinators likely landing head coaching positions next season.