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The revamped Detroit Lions have been a force to be reckoned with, but this season they find themselves in what has recently become uncharted territory.
After making the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, the Lions missed the playoffs after being one of the favorites to win it all in the preseason.
In 2023, they came so close to reaching the Super Bowl for the first time. Last season, they lost in their first playoff game as a No. 1 seed.
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Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jahmyr Gibbs watch before an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on September 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
“I really think we have all the pieces, and that’s why this year was so painful, because you know we have this high level of elite talent,” star running back Aidan Hutchinson told Pak Gazette Digital on Radio Row. “I really think it was a football thing, and it was a lack of complementary football in critical moments. I think different phases were letting the team down. That includes defense too. It sucks that you have to sit there and say it, but I think that’s pretty much what happened. Because we have the pieces.”
“I think we just made mistakes here and there. The details were wrong, we had a lot of people hurt, but I wouldn’t use that as an excuse because we did the same thing last year. We just need to clean up some things,” running back Jahmyr Gibbs added. “Everyone is in the league for a reason. Every team is good. Every team has players that get paid. So, I mean, anyone can beat anyone on any Sunday, Thursday, Monday, whatever. They just beat us more than we’re used to. So it is what it is.”
Part of the reason the Lions didn’t go to the Super Bowl two years ago, many would say, is Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness on fourth down. But don’t expect anyone on the Lions to disagree with their coach’s mentality.
“We love it,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “We’re moving forward, we feel like we have a good offense, players everywhere that can make plays on fourth down. We feel like we can do it on every fourth down. Dan has instilled that in us since we’ve been there… and we feel like we can do it every time.”
Head coach Dan Campbell looks on before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on September 28, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Gibbs’ answer was much simpler.
“We want more points,” he said.
However, one thing Lions certainly do is lean on each other. Hutchinson and Gibbs teamed up with Rocket Mortgage on Radio Row to spread the word about how to be a good neighbor and compared life at home to locker room.
“Be reliable. Always depend on that person who will be there, no matter what, to help you. For example, you need your packages picked up. They will help you,” Gibbs said.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) celebrates his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
“That’s really what Rocket is about,” Hutchinson added. “And their culture preaches being a good neighbor, being kind and spreading kindness. The most important thing is reliability when I think about teammates and neighbors. I think the severity of the situation changes in the game, a little bit higher pressure, but it’s a similar style of reliability.”
When asked if anything was missing to overcome the hurdle, Penei Sewell echoed Hutchinson’s teammates about having the right pieces.
“I can’t think of anything,” Sewell admitted.
“But I’ll tell you what,” Hutchinson added, “once we all get back for OTAs, we’ll all know what’s at stake. We all know how much has been invested in this team and the talent we have. So we’ll continue to sharpen the iron, compete in practices, compete in games and really become the best version of ourselves.”
