3 calls to action that completely backfired on the Lions in Week 9

The Detroit Lions find themselves in a very, very close spot within the NFC North after dropping a home game to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. J.J. McCarthy sliced up the Lions' defense in the first half of the game while the Lions' offense did that to themselves for all four quarters.

It was a nightmare scenario considering just how much talk was had between Lions coaches and the media headed into this game about how important it would be for the team to take care of business in three specific facets: with converting on 3rd down, with stopping other teams from converting on 3rd down, and getting a more balanced attack from their running back room.

Well, all three of these calls to action backfired in some way for Detroit against Minnesota, who was completely prepared for everything the Lions threw at them.

3 calls to action Detroit couldn't follow through on vs. Vikings

Getting balanced touches between Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery

While the two backs did get an almost even amount of touches in this game (Gibbs with 11, Montgomery with nine), neither could get much of anything done against the Vikings run defense. To make matters worse, on Montgomery's biggest play of the day, he fumbled the ball.

One turnover, one touchdown, and just 65 rushing yards between the two is never going to be the formula for success for this Detroit offense.

It's good to see that Morton was intentional about getting both of them the rock, but in this game, it felt like it was more important to utilize them as blockers to protect Jared Goff from the Vikings' pass rushing. They weren't getting anywhere with their legs.

Converting on 3rd down

Coming into this game, Detroit had been one of the worst teams in the NFL at converting on 3rd down. In this game, they weren't that much successful after head coach Dan Campbell labeled this a huge problem with their offense. Converting on just 37.6 of 3rd down plays headed into this game, they went 5-17 in Week 9.

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This is a really big problem when you're a team looking to be considered a legitimate postseason threat. If your offense can't hold up in these high pressure situations, it doesn't bode well for your longevity.

Converting on turnovers

Terrion Arnold, who came back in this game after missing several weeks thanks to a shoulder injury, managed to snag the first pick of his career against the Vikings in the 2nd quarter. The score was still 17-14 at this point, and Detroit had time on the clock after the pick to score on Minnesota heading into the half.

Instead, here's what happened on the ensuing drive: an incompletion to Kalif Raymond, a blown up screen pass to Gibbs that led to negative yardage, another incompletion to Sam LaPorta, and eventually, a punt. Another turnover wasted.

This has been an issue all season long for Detroit. Per Mike Payton of A to Z Sports, the Lions have only capitalized on their 18 turnovers this season with four touchdowns total. That, again, is a huge problem headed into the postseason. And, it's another point of emphasis that was made by Campbell this week that was not taken to heart by the Lions.