The Detroit Lions' 2025-26 season was full of ups and downs, but it ended on a positive note -- even if it did take some ups and downs to get there.
Despite building up a 16-0 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Lions' defense allowed Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears to climb back into the game. A strong start by Kelvin Sheppard's defense dissolved as Williams climbed closer and closer to that 4,000 passing yard season that has eluded the Bears.
Williams led two touchdown drives and converted both two-point conversions to bring the game to a 16-16 tie. A bizarre play-calling sequence where the Lions chose to primarily pass the ball instead of running the clock down in Bears' territory resulted in a Jared Goff interception to give the Bears a chance.
That INT came in what was a great game out of a Goff, who has lately been under the microscope throughout Lions' fandom after a dismal performance on Christmas Day. Goff finished the day with 331 passing yards, bringing his season total to 4,564. Goff finishes second in the NFL in the stat for the third consecutive season.
The Lions' defense bailed out both Goff and head coach Dan Campbell by forcing a three-and-out and preventing Williams from a heroic and historic game-winning drive. Goff and the Lions drove down the field, and snatched a win from the jaws of defeat with a last-second field goal by kicker Jake Bates to secure an above .500 season for the Lions.
Above .500, but below the rest of the division
With the win, the Lions finish above .500 for the fourth consecutive season, tying a Super Bowl-era franchise record with the 1969-1972 Lions. Unlike this era's Lions teams, those early 1970s Lions teams did not win the division, and only made the playoffs once in a losing effort to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1972 season.
The current franchise record is nine consecutive winning seasons, beginning in the franchise's fourth season in 1931 and continuing through the 1939 season. If the Lions were to break this record, their tenth consecutive winning season would be the 2031 season -- 100 years after the original record-breaking streak began.
For Goff, he continues his NFL career with his only losing seasons being his first season with a franchise. Goff had a losing record in 2016 with the Los Angeles Rams, his rookie season, and in 2021 with the Lions. 2016 was also the last time Goff lost a season-finale game, with his teams as a whole now on an eight-game winning streak in those games.
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Sadly, an above .500 season does not equate to a playoff berth. Unless you're the Carolina Panthers, who won the NFC South with an 8-9 record. If only the Lions were in that division and not the NFC North, where every team finished with an above .500 record. No, instead the Lions' 9-8 record is good for last. If nothing else, that fourth-place schedule in 2026 should put the Lions in a great position to reclaim the NFC North title. And they didn't have to lose or rest players to get there, thanks to the Minnesota Vikings' win over the Green Bay Packers earlier in the day.
The 2025 Lions almost ended the season in the most 2025 Lions way possible by falling apart in the second half. But at the last possible moment, fans got to see a spark of that gritty identity that propelled them to winning seasons in the three years prior.
For all intents and purposes, the season will go down as a failure after entering as a Super Bowl favorite. A season full of missed opportunities. Yet, in a season where it felt like little went right, complemented by a brutal first-place schedule, it almost feels like a miracle this team ended up above .500. Changes will need to be made, but any momentum going into 2026 will help.