Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes’ Detroit Lions teams have been built to win games at the line of scrimmage.
Since the head coach-general manager duo arrived in Detroit in 2021, a dominant offensive line and stout defensive front has driven the Lions’ transformation from one of the NFL’s most downtrodden franchises into Super Bowl contenders.
But this year in 2025, fresh off a franchise-best 15-2 season and with Super Bowl aspirations, the Lions crumbled. They’re currently 8-8 and eliminated from playoff contention. Arguably the biggest reason why is that they lost the ability to play their brand of football.
Lions lost their way up front in 2025
“I'm going to be looking at a lot of things,” Campbell said after the Lions’ 23-10 loss to Minnesota on Christmas officially ended their playoff hopes. “Because I do not like being home for the playoffs. The guys don't either, so whenever you lose, man, it takes a village. Everybody's involved, including myself. So, I'm always going to look at myself first.”
Detroit finished sixth in the NFL in yards per game, compared to second the year prior, but a closer look shows why this year felt so different.
The Lions were just 15th in rushing yards per game a year after finishing sixth in that category. And in total success rate, which defines whether or not a play is successful based on the context of down and distance, the Lions are 15th at 44% after their 49.28% success rate led the NFL in 2024.
Detroit currently leads the NFL with nine rushes of 30 or more yards, and those plays are doing lots of heavy lifting for their efficiency numbers. When you take those out of the equation, the Lions have run the ball 406 times for 1,451 yards at a rate of 3.6 yards per carry. Hardly elite stuff.
The big plays are nice, but Detroit isn’t getting intermediate gains on the ground at the rate it once was, which has ultimately doomed the offense to inconsistency.
The biggest changes to Detroit’s offensive roster this offseason came up front, with All-Pro center Frank Ragnow’s retirement and the free agency departure of guard Kevin Zeitler. The Lions moved Graham Glasgow to center, drafted guard Tate Ratledge and made guard Christian Mahogany a full-time starter.
Detroit had stretches where it looked elite offensively, like when they hung 52 points on the Chicago Bears in Week 2 to start a four-game winning streak. But they’ve had far too many duds, like a nine-point showing against the Philadelphia Eagles in November, their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers where they rushed for just 15 yards or their two losses to the Minnesota Vikings.
Sam LaPorta was lost for the year with injury. David Montgomery has seemingly been unhappy about his role. Taylor Decker has had retirement rumors. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams have both had tumultuous stretches. It was just a bad-tasting, weird year for the Lions offense a year after losing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Things weren’t much better for the defense. Though they lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets, there was optimism that, now healthy from the slew of injuries that derailed their 2024, the Lions’ defense could bounce back and redeem itself in 2025.
That didn’t happen. The injury bug bit once again, with the Lions losing star safety duo Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch for most of the year. And, the one thing Detroit could hang its hat on in 2024 faltered in 2025.
Despite the defense ultimately being ravaged by injuries and allowing 38 points in a playoff loss last year, they still finished the season as the NFL’s fifth best run defense. This year, Detroit has allowed the 16th-most rushing yards per game in the NFL with 117.6.
The Lions’ defense has really struggled over the past month, with disastrous performances against the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams in particular. They’ve gotten pushed around in the run game and failed to be disruptive against the pass. It’s been a disappointing year for a unit that planned on anchoring a Super Bowl team.
READ MORE: Jack Campbell shows major leadership after painful end to Lions' 2025 season
Right now, the Lions have lost their identity. But there’s hope that they can find it again.
Their young interior offensive line duo of Mahogany and Ratledge showed promise this year and should keep developing, even if Glasgow may not be a long-term answer and Decker continues to mull retirement. The Lions have questions about the future at running back if they can’t work things out with Montgomery, and tackle if Decker hangs them up soon. But most of their offensive core remains intact.
Defensively, the Lions need to find a clear running mate on the edge for Aidan Hutchinson this offseason after failing to do so last year and paying the price. They need Alim McNeill to get closer to pre-ACL tear form and Tyleik Williams to start looking like a starter if they want to shore up the run defense. However, having a stud like Jack Campbell at linebacker does make that a bit easier to imagine.
The Lions’ roster is not deeply concerning in one area, even if there are some uncertainties. And the foundation and overall culture is there for them to bounce back in 2026.
But this year was a punch in the gut for the organization, who until now had only been on an upward trajectory with Campbell and Holmes. 2026 will have to be a major course correction if this regime wants to get back to its Super Bowl goal.
“Brad (Holmes) and I will have a lot of decisions to make,” Campbell said. “A lot of things to look at. The whats, the whys, the ‘How do we improve?’ Because we need to improve."