After years of it feeling like it was the Detroit Lions' time to shine, 2025 has been a brutal wakeup call for this team. The Lions are 7-5, in third place in the NFC North, and if the season ended today, would not qualify for the postseason. It's a tough spot to be in, considering this team was a Super Bowl favorite before the season began.
That being said, it might not be fun but it's the timeline we're living in and Dan Campbell and the Lions only have themselves to blame. When asked about his takeaways from the NFC North's Week 13 games (three of the four teams played on either Thanksgiving or the day after), former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman did not hold back on what he thought about the Lions.
"My takeaway is that the Detroit Lions may have lost their toughness. How are you a tough football team? You can run the football, you can stop the run, you can protect the quarterback. Seven quarterback hits, three sacks on Jared Goff, seven hurries. I mean, they couldn't protect him... Jared Goff needs to have that middle of the pocket," Edelman said on FOX's pregame show before Sunday's slate of games. "And then on the other side, defensive line, zero sacks, three hurries, they just couldn't get anything on Jordan Love and Jordan Love made 'em pay."
Julian Edelman drops a harsh truth that Lions fans won’t want to hear
As difficult as this is for Lions fans to hear, Edelman isn't wrong with his critique of Campbell's crew this year. What's made this team so tough for opponents to take down in the past is what Edelman alluded to, being able to run the ball, stop the run, and protect the quarterback.
While the Lions are still a great rushing team, Edelman hit the nail on the head on the protecting the quarterback point. Well, that's lack thereof for the Lions, as Goff was sacked three times in the Thanksgiving loss to Green Bay.
In fact, Goff has been sacked 26 times in 11 games this year and when you consider that he was only sacked 31 times last regular season and only 30 times the year before that, that's telling as to how far this Lions o-line has fallen.
Unfortunately, Frank Ragnow won't be saving this team after failing his physical so Campbell needs to figure out what this team's identity is going to be and fast. Otherwise, this team is in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season.