The Lions Must Prepare For the Pressure of the 2025 Season
Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
Detroit Lions fans are still feeling the sting of a crushing postseason exit after earning the top seed in the NFC. On top of that, the Lions lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching gigs. After a 15-2 season and a lot of coaching turnover, it’s natural to expect Detroit to take a step back.
There will also be more pressure on this team in 2025 than there was last season, and a major reason for that is injuries. Or, rather, because they’re not besieged by the injury bug. Usually, the injury excuse is a weak line to cope, but in the case of the 2024 Lions, it was valid. Detroit lost six defensive starters from the start of the season who landed on injured reserve as the calendar turned to January. Many, like superstar pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, had been out for quite some time before the playoffs approached.
Of course, there was still pressure on the Lions. Even after all that, they were still the top seed and stacked the most wins in franchise history. Still, while we were all surprised after the Lions went one-and-done, no one could be truly surprised that a banged-up defense yielded 38 points to a playoff team.
But until you win a Super Bowl, the expectations increase over time. In 2023, Detroit went 12-5, won the NFC North, and made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game. That’s the kind of thing you can do when you’re an upstart, carefree team playing with house money. After that, people want to know if you can sustain that success.
Detroit shoved any doubt away in 2024 and proved it has a sustainable product. But the questions never stop at that point. Now, it’s whether or not they can get to the mountaintop.
General manager Brad Holmes kept it simple recently when he talked about the plans for the Lions to get over the hump.
“I think that we just stay the course and keep building like we’ve been. I do think that we’re very close,” Holmes said. “Obviously, I thought that we were very close this year, but nothing is going to alter what our approach has been in terms of trying to continue to improve and keep building.”
The expectations are now cemented in. Despite losing Glenn and Johnson, the Lions will bring back the bulk of their key contributors on the roster. FanDuel shows the Lions have the fifth-best odds to win the Super Bowl next year and they have the second-best odds in the NFC.
Falling short two years ago was the natural rhythm of a championship window opening up for a young team. Last year, there was an absurd string of injuries that could hand-wave away any lasting concerns. The excuses run out in 2025. They are a juggernaut and will be expected to compete for championships, and maybe even win one outright. That’s a lot of weight for a still-young team to carry.
But they aren’t shying away from those expectations.
After Philadelphia hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown wasted no time in lobbying for Detroit to open the season against the Eagles in 2025. He did so on his podcast, and in a way only St. Brown could.
“You would see what could’ve happened in an NFC Championship with a healthy defense, how that (expletive) operates..”
Whether or not it’s to open the season, the Lions will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in 2025. In fact, Detroit has one of the most daunting road schedules in recent memory. While the offseason can shift the balance of power, they’ll have away dates against the LA Rams, Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Kansas City Chiefs, all in addition to their usual NFC North schedule.
That’s both Super Bowl teams, the team that vanquished them in the playoffs, and a perennial contender with a three-time MVP quarterback. The lighter part of the schedule is going against a regular playoff team in the Rams, and Joe Burrow. And again, all at their houses.
That’s a murderer’s row.
The days of the Lions being the feel-good story of the NFL are done. Back-to-back seasons of dominant play have elevated expectations from within and without. The same media folks who praised them on their way up will be dancing on their graves, calling them frauds if they lose in the playoffs again. It’s time for Detroit to deliver.
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