Getty Images

Lions coach Jim Caldwell opted not to offer any criticism of the Rams defense rushing the Lions offensive line on a pair of kneeldowns at the end of Sunday’s game between the two teams, which may have had something to do with a conversation Caldwell had with Rams coach Jeff Fisher after the game.

Fisher said Monday that the team’s coaches didn’t instruct the defensive line to fire off the ball into the Lions and that he thought it came from players frustrated by something involving Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald during the game.

“There’s been some criticism with respect to that,” Fisher said, via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. “This approach did not come from the sideline. It was not a call. It was not something that we practiced, or that we preach. I think it was a byproduct of frustration, some things that Aaron endured during the game, and the players took it on themselves to do it. We’ll address it. I talked to coach Caldwell after the game and apologized and said I’d get to the bottom of it. The game’s over, the game’s over. Pay respect to your opponent. But you guys don’t realize all the stuff that goes on inside, up front, between the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen. We’ll address it, and it’s unlikely it’ll happen again.”

Donald said after the game, via MLive.com, that the Lions offensive linemen “did a lot of things” without pointing to anything specific that would have set him or his teammates off.