Detroit Lions are running out of time to make playoff push, though belief remains strong

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Detroit Lions know what it takes to compete with the best in the loaded NFC after a 41-34 loss to the conference-leading Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

But with three games and zero margin for error remaining to make the playoffs, the Lions are running out of time to be able to put those lessons to use.

“You know what it is. And we’re not there right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Doesn’t know we can’t be, but now we know what it looks like, and you got to get better. We got to get better. We got to move on. Can’t sulk about it. Can’t felly sorry for ourselves. We make the corrections, and we move on.”

The Lions (8-6) haven’t made the postseason in three consecutive campaigns since 1993-95, and understood coming into the weekend that even winning out might not be enough to get a playoff berth and end that streak.

They came out with a first half worthy of the Super Bowl aspirations they entered the season with, taking a 24-14 lead with 30 seconds remaining behind a dynamic passing attack from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, plus a jaw-dropping interception by edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson on a tight end screen and returning it 58 yards.

“Aidan made a great play,” Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “Looked like he was the primary receiver on the damn play. Made me look silly in space.”

But the Rams (11-3) snatched a field goal to end the second quarter, and the Lions could not regain momentum after the break, going three-and-out on both possessions in the third quarter while the defense gave up 17 points.

Goff pointed to ineffectiveness on first down in the second half, forcing the offensive line into situations where Los Angeles could turn to its powerful pass rush. Campbell essentially agreed, noting an overall inability to run the ball as Detroit had two carries for 11 yards in the third quarter, plus a holding penalty which negated a first down and left the offense facing third-and-long.

“But, the bottom line is, we weren’t able to convert, and so then we strung the defense out, and then all of a sudden it flips,” Campbell said. “You’re up 10, you’re down 10, and that was a rough quarter for us.”

The Lions finished with just 70 yards rushing on 20 carries, having failed to win any of their five games this season when totaling less than 100 yards on the ground.

Goff went 25 of 41 for 338 yards and three touchdowns, finding St. Brown 13 times for 164 yards and two scores and Williams seven times for 134 yards and a score, though their overall effectiveness dropped off in the second half.

Detroit needs to win its final three games — against Pittsburgh, at Minnesota on a short week, and at Chicago — and get help to have a shot at the playoffs

Goff expressed belief the Lions can still put a streak together, even after alternating wins and losses for the past 10 games.

“We’re resilient,” Goff said. “I hope I can give you a really good answer in a couple weeks. But we’re resilient. We really are, and I expect us to bounce back from this, and we still have plenty of stuff in front of us.”

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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff answers questions after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell answers questions after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell looks up at the scoreboard during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) walks off the field after a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton distanced himself themselves from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in closed-door depositions with lawmakers, according to videos that were released Monday by a House committee.

The recordings of the depositions, which spanned hours over two days last week, show how Bill Clinton told the committee that he had ended his relationship with Epstein years before the financier entered a 2008 guilty plea to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Hillary Clinton told the committee she never even recalled meeting Epstein.

Both closed-door interviews before the House Oversight Committee were taken under oath Thursday and Friday.

The Clintons' testimony came as lawmakers are trying to meet demands for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in New York while facing charges for sex trafficking and abusing underage girls. High-status men around the world have been forced into resignations because of revelations about their relationships with Epstein, but so far there are few signs in the U.S. of serious legal consequences coming.

The former Democratic president said he first remembered meeting Epstein when he flew aboard the financier's private jet in 2002 for the Clintons' humanitarian work, and they parted ways the year after.

“There’s nothing that I saw when I was around him that made me realize he was trafficking women,” he told the committee.

Epstein visited the White House numerous times during Clinton’s presidency and there are photos of them shaking hands. Clinton told lawmakers he did not recall those interactions.

Bill Clinton faced searching questions both from Republicans and Democrats about photos of the former president that have been released as part of the case files on Epstein. In response to a Democratic lawmakers' questions about a photo that showed him in a pool with a woman whose face was redacted, the former president said he did not know the woman and did not engage in sexual activity with her.

He said the photo was from a trip to Brunei for charitable work and a number of people in their travel party were swimming.

Whether the subject was a note Clinton wrote for Epstein's 50th birthday or their travel together for the Clinton Foundation, he described their relationship as little more than “cordial.”

“We were friendly, but I didn’t know him well enough to say we were friends,” he said.

Asked by Republicans whether they had talked about young women or girls together, Clinton responded emphatically: “No.”

One line of questioning stirred up curiosity from lawmakers, and that was what Clinton had to say about President Donald Trump. He made clear he believed it was important for anyone, including presidents, to come forward and testify to their knowledge of Epstein.

Clinton also shared how he and Trump had briefly discussed Epstein at a charity golf tournament more than 20 years ago. He said Trump had never “said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper with regard to Epstein,” but also remarked that those two men had a falling-out over a real estate deal.

Republican lawmakers left the deposition pointing to Clinton's words and arguing that it showed there is no evidence that Trump ever did anything wrong in his own relationship with Epstein.

Democrats, meanwhile, said Clinton's testimony counters what Trump has said more recently about why he and Epstein had a falling-out. Trump has told reporters they had a disagreement because Epstein had hired people away from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, after testifying before U.S. House lawmakers as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Chappaqua, N.Y. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., speaks outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center where former President Bill Clinton was testifying before U.S. House lawmakers as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Chappaqua, N.Y. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

FILE - President Clinton makes a statement as first lady Hillary Clinton looks on at the White House, Dec. 19, 1998 in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)