The Detroit Lions hope to rebound after a disappointing 2025 season that saw them finish in dead last in their division. That was a huge step back for a team that entered the year with Super Bowl aspirations, especially after holding the NFC's best record and capturing the top seed in the playoffs in 2024.
The good news is that the Lions have one of the league's easiest schedules this year, and that alone should help them turn things around. They also have a talented offense led by Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. With that in mind, the Lions are unsurprisingly one of the 14 teams on Connor Orr of SI's list of teams that could contend for a Super Bowl in 2026.
Orr cites the "generous schedule" and how well the Lions performed offensively last year as reasons for optimism in 2026. He was also high on the hiring of Drew Petzing, who took over as Detroit's offensive coordinator after John Morton was one-and-done in the role.
What's even more interesting about Orr's list is that three teams from the NFC North made the cut. This isn't all that shocking given how competitive the division has been in recent years, but the only team that didn't make an appearance is the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings fail to make SI's list of Super Bowl contenders
On the surface, this isn't surprising whatsoever.
While the Vikings' overall roster has been pretty decent in recent years, the quarterback position has been what's held them back. Taking J.J. McCarthy in the first round two years ago proved to be a bad decision and they've been paying the price for that ever since. Minnesota is now banking on Kyler Murray to help them out at the sport's most important position and be a stable presence at quarterback.
Lions fans, on the other hand, are hoping that the Vikings' quarterback situation continues to go poorly. Minnesota has thrown a lot at the wall to see what sticks at the position but it hasn't been enough. It was amusing watching Sam Darnold immediately go on to win a Super Bowl one year after leaving Minneapolis and now the Vikings are putting all of their eggs in the Kyler Murray basket.
Fingers crossed that it doesn't pan out for them and the Lions can collect two easy wins against the Vikings en route to another division title.
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