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The new-look 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 were set to compete in 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 look on 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 hurt, because you know we have this high level of elite talent,” star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson told PK Press Club Digital on Radio Row. “I really think it was just about football, and it was a lack of complementary football in critical moments. I think different phases let the team down. That includes defense too. It’s a shame to have to sit here and say it, but I think that’s kind of what happened. Because we have the pieces.”
“I think we just made mistakes here and there. Details slipped, we had a lot of injuries, but I wouldn’t take that as an excuse because we did the same thing last year. We just need to clean up some things,” added running back Jahmyr Gibbs. “Everyone is in the league for a reason. Every team is good. Every team has paid players. So, I mean, anyone can beat anyone on any Sunday, Thursday, Monday, whatever. We just got beat more than we’re used to. So that’s the way it is.”
Part of the reason the Lions didn’t go to the Super Bowl two years ago, many would say, was Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness on fourth down. But don’t expect anyone among the Lions to disagree with their coach’s mentality.
“We love it,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “We’re up to it, we feel like we have a good offense, guys everywhere they can go are playing on fourth down. We feel like we can get it every fourth down. Dan has instilled that in us since we’ve been there…and we feel like we can get 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 definitely do is lean on each other. Hutchinson and Gibbs teamed up with Rocket Mortgage on Radio Row to spread the message about being a good neighbor and compared life at home to the locker room.
“Be reliable. Always count 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 all about,” Hutchinson added. “And their culture, they preach about 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 higher pressure, but it’s a similar feeling of reliability.”
When asked if there was anything missing to get over the hump, Penei Sewell echoed Hutchinson’s teammates about having the right pieces.
“Nothing comes to mind,” Sewell admitted.
“But I’ll tell you,” Hutchinson added, “once we all come back for OTAs, we all know what’s at stake. We all know how much has been invested in this team and the talent that we have. So we’re going to continue to sharpen the iron, compete in practice, compete in games and really become the best version of ourselves.”
