While there's plenty to pick apart about the Detroit Lions after their 2-2 start to the season, there are just as many positive takeaways worth mentioning.
Their offense, namely, has been stellar to begin the year - and they haven't even hit their full stride. Drops, a lack of rushing success, and some flat play-calling to begin the season have kept the Lions' offense from being a top-5 unit. They're more like a top-10. Tragic.
Instead of focusing on the negatives around the Lions, we'll take a look at the four players that have very little to prove ahead of their Week 5 bout against the Arizona Cardinals.
4 Lions with little to prove ahead of Week 5 game against Cardinals
Jared Goff
Goff has been stellar to begin this season. He has zero turnovers and nine passing touchdowns, with the tenth-best QBR in the league at 66.3. He's been effective all over the field, although some assistance by way of less dropped catches from Jameson Williams could go a long way towards unlocking his deep-pass game even further.
Goff's passing has been helped tremendously by a revitalized Lions offensive line. They are a top pass blocking unit, and Goff's ability to remain in the pocket and orchestrate Drew Petzing's play-action heavy scheme has helped Detroit right along.
Christian Mahogany
As mentioned, the Lions' pass blocking has been stellar. For those who still look to PFF to color some of their thoughts on individual performances, Mahogany is their third-highest graded guard overall (86.7). If you want a broader data point to paint the picture of Mahogany's success, he's allowed:
- 3 pressures
- Zero sacks
- 1 quarterback hit
And has just one penalty. He's been such a great redemption story for the Lions after missing a chunk of the 2025 season with a leg fracture, and entering the 2026 season as a potential bench candidate at left guard. Instead, he completely outplayed all other guards on the Lions' roster vying for the LG position.
Mahogany has this job locked up, full stop. Juice Scruggs, who is expected to compete for the job once Cade Mays is back in the rotation full-time, is unlikely to unseat Mahogany.
READ MORE: Skyler Gill-Howard may be tapped to contribute amid Lions' Week 5 injury report
Alim McNeill
Through four weeks, Alim McNeil leads all interior defensive linemen with 20 pressures. In his first full action since returning off an ACL tear suffered in 2024, McNeill has looked just as dominant as he did prior to that injury. He's a huge part of why the Lions' defensive line suddenly has so much pop again. And, he's locked down with the team for another two seasons at minimum.
He, rookie defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard, Tyleik Williams, and Aidan Hutchinson have been absolute forces to begin the year, but it unfortunately hasn't been enough to mask the issues with the teams' secondary.
Jake Bates
Bates had a weird offseason, getting no real competition in training camp and then missing a few kicks in preseason. It was a less than encouraging sign for Bates, who struggled in 2025.
But, he has fully bounced back through the Lions' first four games of the year: he is 100% on his extra point attempts, and 100% on his field goal attempts. With the Lions struggling to score early in games, he's managed to keep them on the board with decent field goals to get their scoring started. He deserves his flowers.
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