The Detroit Lions were worse for wear against NFC North opponents in 2025. Outside of the Chicago Bears, who they swept their regular season series against, they couldn't go toe to toe with the Green Bay Packers or the J.J. McCarthy-led Minnesota Vikings. If there was any specific indication of just how down bad the Lions were in 2025, look to their record against divisional rivals.
Their most frustrating losses against the NFC North, though, had to have been against the Packers. They lost Week 1 on the road against them, and again on Thanksgiving at home.
Jordan Love was fairly efficient against the Lions in those two contests, throwing for four touchdowns during the Packers Thanksgiving victory and six total through two games. Matt LaFleur was an opponent Lions fans couldn't wait to not see again until next year thanks to his...let's say, irritating, postgame reaction to the win and a controversial call during it.
Love hasn't necessarily been as much of a thorn in the media regarding the Lions, but he did dominate in both battles last season. As it turns out, though, he might've been getting a bit of luck in 2025. PFF ran an analysis of the luckiest, and unluckiest, arms in the NFL in 2025. Love landed third overall, just behind Matthew Stafford and Cam Ward.
Love lucked out throughout run against NFC North, NFL
Luck is calculated here by how many turnover-worthy throws are attempted by quarterbacks against how many turnovers they actually committed. That means Love was a bit reckless with his arm in 2025, although it's not like the Lions took advantage of this - they recorded zero interceptions in their two games against one another.
PFF's Mark Chichester wrote of Love's luck:
"Love's 41.7% turnover-worthy-play-to-interception conversion rate sits below league average, but not dramatically so, and his six-interception total appears relatively normal at first glance. The real driver came on the other side of the equation. Love threw just one interception on a non-turnover-worthy play across 485 pass attempts, despite league-average rates projecting closer to four."
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Jared Goff landed as the fifth-luckiest quarterback ever, though, and he's third in most dropped interceptions in his career. So, while Love might be a little lucky, it's almost like Goff hired an Etsy witch to make sure he never looked too stupid on any errant passes throughout these past few years.
Detroit shored up their secondary a bit this offseason, adding Roger McCreary, Chuck Clark, and Christian Izien in free agency, while drafting Keith Abney II as a potential starting slot corner. Through these additions, and the health of both Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed, the Lions could begin to turn luck against a quarterback like Love with more turnovers generated.
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