Analysis: Motown misery! Lions might surpass Vikings as NFC’s biggest letdown in 2025

The NFL’s favorite stat is the one that’s now been updated to say the league is officially riding a 36-season streak of at least four teams making the playoffs that didn’t qualify the year before.

New England, Jacksonville, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco are in.

The Chiefs, Commanders and Vikings are out. The Lions, 8-7 and needing to win out while the Packers lose out, could join them on skid row as early as Christmas Day if they lose to the Vikings (7-8) at U.S. Bank Stadium.

So …

What the heck happened in Detroit?

When kickoff arrives on Christmas, it will have been only 354 days since the 14-2 Lions throttled the 14-2 Vikings 31-9 to secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed at Ford Field on Jan. 5. Now Detroit is staring at a 6% chance of making the playoffs, according to Next Gen Stats, and pratfalling past even the Vikings for the NFC’s most disappointing faceplant of 2025. (Let’s give the overall league nod on the disappointment-o-meter to the Chiefs.)

The seeds of disappointment in Detroit were planted shortly after last season ended when coach Dan Campbell lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching gigs for the Bears and Jets, respectively.

Injuries from last year lingered into this year. Nose tackle Alim McNeill missed six games as he recovered from a torn knee ligament. Helpful former second-round defensive picks Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. have missed the entire season.

The injuries kept coming. Tight end Sam LaPorta has missed six games. Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch has missed three, while All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph has missed nine.

Cornerback Terrion Arnold has missed seven games. Cornerback D.J. Reed has missed six. DB desperation became a recurring theme.

Unlike last year, when Johnson and the planet’s top-ranked scoring unit carried a beat-up defense into the postseason, this year’s offense has been good, but it has lost a touch of its creativity and most of its tough-guy identity.

Guard Christian Mahogany broke his leg and has missed six games. Tackle Taylor Decker has had a down year. Ragnow tried to unretire but failed his physical.

Quarterback Jared Goff played well, as he has all season, completing 34 of 54 passes for 364 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 101.2 rating. But the Lions couldn’t control the line of scrimmage or the game like they always did a year ago.

Detroit got Mahogany back for the Steelers game. But, typical of their luck this season, the Lions were without their starting center, Graham Glasgow, and his veteran backup, Trystan Colon. So the Lions started undrafted rookie Kingsley Eguakun at center.

Detroit’s inability to control the game’s tempo with its offensive line helped Pittsburgh’s average-at-best run game pound out 230 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries (8.5).

And, typical of any down year, the breaks aren’t going Detroit’s way. The Lions were flagged for one of the rarest of NFL penalties — offensive pass interference — twice in the final 25 seconds.

First, a 1-yard touchdown pass from Goff to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was nullified. Then the walk-off winner — a lateral from St. Brown to Goff on fourth-and-goal from the 9 — was waved off.

A year ago, the Lions were 6-0 in the division and 8-0 on the road. This year, they are 1-3 in the division, including a home loss to the Vikings, and 3-4 on the road.

But, cheer up, Lions Nation. Ditto, Vikings Nation.