A Detroit Lions side that was one of the bigger disappointments of the 2025 season will end its campaign with a matchup at the rival Chicago Bears this coming Sunday.
As Eric Woodyard shared for ESPN, Lions quarterback Jared Goff previously insisted that he and his teammates would play for “pride” in Week 18. Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown seemed to send a message to frustrated Lions fans while speaking with reporters on Thursday.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is confident Lions will bounce back from frustrating season
“The nucleus of this team will still be here,” St. Brown explained, per Benjamin Raven of MLive. “And I think, I think that’s important. Just, you know, going into next year, knowing the guys that you have here, knowing you’re familiar with the players and the coaches. So, I feel confident with the guys that we have. I know we have a bunch of guys who can make plays.”
The 2024 Lions went 15-2, but they were unable to overcome a significant injury crisis during the divisional round of the postseason tournament. Detroit subsequently lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, as they accepted head-coaching jobs. In his first year as Chicago’s head coach, Johnson guided that club to a record of 11-5 and to a division title.
“Going into next year, man, I think we’ll just be that much more hungry,” St. Brown continued. “… I think guys will be hungry because I don’t think any of us want to have a season like we did this year, next year. I think that’s the biggest thing, just making sure we don’t repeat the same things.”
Dan Campbell vows that Lions have hit “rock bottom”
The Lions ended Week 14 at 8-5 but then suffered three consecutive defeats to fall out of contention for a playoff berth. Detroit head coach Dan Campbell vowed that this is as low as the club will get under his watch for the foreseeable future.
“Sometimes you’ve got to hit rock bottom before you can work your way back up,” Campbell said, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “And relative to where we were at, this is rock bottom. But as bad as it looks, I said this the other day, it’s not as far away as it may appear. We’ve just got to get a few things back in line here. But it does apply to the coaches, and no different than the players, that’s what you look for as a head coach: How do other coaches respond to what we’re going through here?”
The 9-6-1 Green Bay Packers also qualified for the playoffs, while the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings could finish the campaign with a winning record. In short, returning to the postseason may not be an easy task for Campbell and Co. next season.