Despite entering the 2025 season as one of the favorites to compete in the NFC, the Detroit Lions currently sit on the wrong side of the playoff line with five games remaining.

The team lost for the third time in November, dropping a home game to division rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 31-24.

The loss puts the Lions third in the NFC North, two games behind the Chicago Bears. After the weekend, Detroit sits below the playoff line with a 7-5 record. On Monday, ESPN gave the Lions a 44% chance of making the postseason.

Head coach Dan Campbell is aware of the team’s recent slump but remains determined to make a final push into the playoffs.

“We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole,” he said after Thursday’s loss. “That’s the bottom line. We are in a little bit of a hole. But that’s just what it is. There’s nothing more than that. So all we got to do is worry about cleaning up this and then getting to the next game and finding a way to win the next one in front of us.”

Under Campbell, the Lions won back-to-back NFC North titles in 2023 and 2024. Last season, the team finished with its best regular-season record (15-2) in franchise history but lost in the Divisional round against the Washington Commanders.

The Lions’ next game is a home clash with the hot Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.

Just a week ago, the Detroit Lions announced that they signed edge rusher Aiden Hutchinson to a four-year, $180 million contract extension.

The deal included a $141 million guaranteed, the largest guarantee ever awarded to a non-quarterback in NFL history. Hutchinson’s average annual salary of $45 million ranks second only to Micah Parsons among non-quarterbacks.

At 25 years old, Hutchinson has already established himself as a cornerstone of Detroit’s defense. As a former No. 2 overall draft pick in 2022, he overcame a fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6 of 2024 to return to high-level play this season. Through seven games in 2025, he has registered six sacks and four fumbles, while ranking among the league in quarterback pressures.

Coach Dan Campbell praised Hutchinson’s all-around impact, noting his ability to set the edge in the run game, disrupt the quarterback, and even drop into coverage when asked. “Complete! Fired up to have him long term!” Campbell wrote in a text shared by the media.

The contract extension aligns with Detroit’s broader strategy to draft and retain home-grown talent under general manager Brad Holmes. In recent seasons, players such as quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell also secured long-term deals.

In Week 9, Hutchinson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a “leg whip” in an attempt to bring down the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, which usually carries a $17,000 fine. After reviewing the incident, the league decided not to fine Hutchinson.

The Detroit Lions were one of the most dominant teams, if not the most dominant team, in the 2024 season, averaging 33.2 points a game, which led the NFL. The Lions would go 15-2 and earn the one seed in the NFC before being upset by the Commanders in the divisional round, losing 45-31. The Lions still had a fantastic season, winning the most games in a season in franchise history with 15. Quarterback Jared Goff also finished in the top five for MVP voting, and head coach Dan Campbell would finish in the top three in coach of the year voting.

>GET DEALS ON DETROIT LIONS TICKETS NOW!

The offseason would start rough for the Lions, losing both of their coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, who both accepted head coaching jobs. The team also lost several players to free agency, like cornerback Carlton Davis, guard Kevin Zeitler and defensive end Za’Darius Smith. The most significant loss, however, was center Frank Ragnow, who retired after seven seasons with the Lions. Ragnow was one of the best centers in the league and was a key part of the dominant offensive line play from 2024.

Despite all the losses, the Lions made sure to reload this offseason. They signed players like cornerback D.J. Reed from the Jets, linebacker Derrick Barnes, defensive end Marcus Davenport and cornerbacks Avonte Maddox and Rock Ya-Sin. The Lions also promoted John Morton to their offensive coordinator and Kelvin Sheppard to their defensive coordinator.

Heading into the draft, the Lions held the 28th overall pick, which they selected defensive tackle Tyleik Williams out of Ohio State. They also upgraded their offensive line, which lost several starters this last season, drafting guard Tate Ratledge out of Georgia in the second round. They also selected wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa out of Arkansas, guard Miles Frazier out of LSU and Ahmed Hassanein out of Boise State.

The Lions will face numerous obstacles in their quest to return to the one seed in the NFC, given their third-hardest schedule in the NFL, according to Fox Sports. Detroit opens its season vs its division rival, the Green Bay Packers, in Green Bay, and in week two, it plays the Chicago Bears, another division rival. The Lions have to play several playoff teams from last season, including the Packers, Ravens, Chiefs, Vikings, Commanders, Buccaneers, Eagles, Rams and Steelers. Detroit will have to quickly establish a new identity if it wants to replicate last season’s success.

DETROIT LIONS SCHEDULE & TICKET DEALS

• Week 1: Sept. 7 at Green Bay Packers
• Week 2: Sept. 14 vs. Chicago Bears
• Week 3: Sept. 22 at Baltimore Ravens (Monday Night Football on ESPN/ABC)
• Week 4: Sept. 28 vs. Cleveland Browns
• Week 5: Oct. 5 at Cincinnati Bengals
• Week 6: Oct. 12 at Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday Night Football on NBC)
• Week 7: Oct. 20 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Monday Night Football on ESPN/ABC)
• Week 8: Bye Week
• Week 9: Nov. 2 vs. Minnesota Vikings
• Week 10: Nov. 9 at Washington Commanders
• Week 11: Nov. 16 at Philadelphia Eagles (ET, Sunday Night Football on NBC)
• Week 12: Nov. 23 vs. New York Giants
• Week 13: Nov. 27 vs. Green Bay Packers (Thanksgiving – 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX)
• Week 14: Dec. 4 vs. Dallas Cowboys (Thursday Night Football on Prime Video)
• Week 15: Dec. 14 at Los Angeles Rams
• Week 16: Dec. 21 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 17: Dec. 25 at Minnesota Vikings (Christmas Day on Netflix)
• Week 18: vs. Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions Season/Game Odds

Despite a bumpy offseason, the Lions still have +1100 odds of winning the Super Bowl and +500 odds of winning the NFC Championship for the first time in franchise history. The Lions, however, will open week one as +1.5 underdogs on the road vs the Packers, but are favored in 12 of their 17 games next season.

The publisher receives a commission for links in this story. 

The New York Jets announced Wednesday that they hired Aaron Glenn to be their next head coach. Glenn has been the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator since 2021, working with Dan Campbell to turn the long-struggling team into a Super Bowl contender.

Glenn’s first staff assignment in the NFL was with the Jets as a personnel scout in 2012. He went on to coach defensive backs for the Browns and Saints before accepting the job in Detroit. He has been on New York’s radar for some time, and his strong connection to the team may have had something to do with his decision to decline an interview with the Patriots earlier this month.

With Glenn headed to the Jets and former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accepting the head coaching job for the Chicago Bears, Campbell and the Lions will have to restructure its staff on both sides of the ball ahead of next season. 

Detroit, coming off a loss to the Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round, still has plenty of weapons on offense and defensive standouts returning from injury. But building back up without both coordinators will be a tall task in 2025.

As for the Jets, who are turning to yet another defensive-minded head coach, the way forward is only slightly clearer now. New York is still without a general manager, and key players like Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams have not given any clear direction in terms of a return yet. If Rodgers leaves, the goal will be to form a new front office and find a quarterback to lead the team’s young talent on offense. But Glenn, like Robert Saleh before him, can only do so much beyond staff decisions and defensive schemes.

There are countless directions New York can go in for a 2025 quarterback. Expectations are so low after last season that there’s virtually no pressure to speak of. Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Sam Darnold are all in play. The Jets can trade up for a draft pick if they see Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward as a sure thing. If they really want, they can wait until next year and ride things out with Tyrod Taylor. 

The point is that there isn’t a single option available to them that won’t require time to pay off. This should be to Glenn’s advantage, as he should have at least two seasons in a typically hostile media environment to build something new. That has proven difficult for past coaches going back decades, and owner Woody Johnson is cemented as a common denominator in those struggles. But Glenn has the background to be effective in seemingly dreary situations, giving him some sort of chance to succeed in this Sisyphean task.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has reportedly emerged as the leading candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job. Johnson interviewed with a number of teams during the Lions’ playoff bye last weekend, and impressed the Raiders’ organization.

Despite garnering massive attention among rebuilding teams entering their off-seasons, Johnson’s sixth season with the Lions is far from over. His future prospects will not be on his mind for as long as the first-seeded Lions are still kicking.

“I’m going to stay focused on the main thing right here, and that’s going to be the Washington Commanders,” Johnson said during a press conference Wednesday. “That’s what we’re about. [Dan Campbell] asked me about how it went this weekend. It went great, and that’s the end of it. The focus right here and now for the players, for the coaching staff and for everybody in this building is about this game this week.”

After kickstarting his coaching career at Boston College and later rising through the ranks with the Miami Dolphins, Johnson arrived in Detroit in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach. He accepted roles as the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator before finally landing the offensive coordinator job in 2022, one season after Campbell was hired as head coach. The two have since worked together to turn the Lions’ offense into one of the best in the league.

With an elite offensive background in an increasingly scoring-oriented league, Johnson would be a natural target for any number of struggling teams in the league. The Chicago Bears are looking to build a new scheme around young quarterback Caleb Williams. 

The Jaguars have been trying to find a complement to quarterback Trevor Lawrence for years. The Jets are about to begin another rebuild, something Johnson saw firsthand in Detroit. From countless angles, his time with the Lions has made him a universally desirable head coaching hire. Prospective teams, on the other hand, offer little more than problems to fix.

Like their fellow cellar mates, the Raiders have their own share of dysfunction. They have a certain allure as well, however. Moving from Oakland to Las Vegas has put the team at the center of a new sports market. Tom Brady just bought a minority share in the team and is taking an active role in shaping the organization. Tight end Brock Bowers is coming off one of the greatest rookie seasons in the history of the position, working with almost no support around him.

Despite a horrific 4-13 season in 2024, there is enough happening in Las Vegas to tempt a coach like Johnson to sign on. The team is reportedly searching for a new quarterback, which could allow Johnson to immediately begin to shape his own offense in his first season as head coach. There’s very little that he would have to inherit, as there’s very little the Raiders would want to keep from past coaching regimes. 

For now, Johnson’s coaching future is unknown as he concludes his epic run with the Detroit Lions. But if he chooses to step out on his own when the music finally stops, Las Vegas is one of many teams that seem content to leave the light on for him.

What did you think of the story? Leave a comment to let us know! Sign up for the free uSports email for the latest sports news & opinion!

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is reportedly planning to come out of retirement and will sign with the Detroit Lions. Bridgewater retired from the NFL in 2023 and most recently led Miami Northwestern High School, his alma mater, to a state championship as head coach.

The motivation behind Bridgewater’s desire to return to the NFL is still unclear, but joining the Lions places him in a potentially important position for a Super Bowl contender. Bridgewater would likely serve as one of two backup quarterbacks for Jared Goff on the team’s playoff roster, joining second-year passer Hendon Hooker.

Bridgewater reportedly has a good relationship with Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who worked as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020. The journeyman passer played there in 2018 and 2019. Bridgewater’s last stint before retiring was with Campbell and the Lions in 2023.

Based on his reputation, Bridgewater figures as a shrewd addition for the Lions. The veteran passer is known as an excellent locker room presence and teammate, especially for his fellow quarterbacks. As of 2022, he also proved capable of starting and holding his own at the professional level. In five appearances and two starts for the Miami Dolphins that year, he threw for 683 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, earning an 85.6 quarterback rating. His last extended stint as a starter came in 2021, when he threw for 3,000 yards as a member of the Denver Broncos.

Based on Campbell’s eagerness to work with Bridgewater at the tail end of his career, it doesn’t feel preposterous to suspect that the quarterback could soon land a coaching role for the Lions after his second retirement. Bridgewater’s interest in coaching at a local level, combined with his locker room behavior and the Lions’ persistent interest, could make him a viable candidate in some capacity in the near future.

In the meantime, Bridgewater must do what he can to assist a white-hot Lions offense looking to overcome a slew of injuries on defense. The team’s prospects as a Super Bowl favorite have dwindled somewhat in recent weeks, but with Goff piloting an explosive passing game and rushing attack, the team still has a strong puncher’s chance. If Goff goes down, however, it may come down to Bridgewater or Hooker to pick up the pieces and keep the team’s championship hopes alive. It would be a big step up from high school ball.  

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back David Montgomery both logged full practices Wednesday ahead of the team’s Thanksgiving game. Both players are still questionable to play but are trending in the right direction.

Despite dealing with setbacks on a short turnaround, Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed optimism that both players would be available earlier this week. Montgomery will try to play through a shoulder injury while St. Brown is dealing with knee soreness.

Even without two star players, the Lions would still be a dangerous opponent for the Bears Thursday. With Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta catching passes and Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield, Detroit’s attack would still be extremely potent, if somewhat diminished.

With Montgomery and St. Brown both getting a full practice in, however, Detroit should be fully equipped with its usual offense. Montgomery has paired perfectly with Gibbs all season, as the two have combined to form the most dangerous rushing game in the NFL. St. Brown, meanwhile, is having another career year as one of the league’s top wide receivers.

Though the two playmakers were major names on the injury report, they were not the only Lions players dealing with issues. Cornerback Carlton Davis and tackle Taylor Decker have already been declared out, while cornerback Terrion Arnold and defensive lineman D.J. Reader have been cleared of a designation. The team sent wide receiver Kalif Raymond to the IR earlier this week.

The Bears aren’t dealing with any notable injuries, but with rookie Caleb Williams under center, the team is sure to be an underdog against the NFC’s strongest team. Williams nearly led Chicago to an upset victory over the Vikings last week, a strong performance that could help the team build momentum in a daunting NFC North division.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams decided not to appeal his two-game suspension with the NFL. On Monday, the league stated that the former Alabama wide-out violated the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy and would be required to sit out two games. Williams released a statement detailing his decision not to appeal.

“This week, I was notified by the NFL that I have been suspended for a violation of the performance-enhancing substances policy,” he said in a statement. “The news came as a complete surprise that I am still trying to understand. I don’t take supplements or vitamins, and I am overly cautious about even taking over-the-counter medicine. At no time have I ever taken something in an attempt to cheat or look for an unfair advantage. I understand that I am responsible for everything that goes into my body, and I have to take accountability in this instance.”

Williams has been in the league for only three seasons but now misses substantial time in all of them. In his rookie season, he missed 11 games due to an ACL injury. Last season, the league suspended him for four games because he violated its gambling policy. Unfortunately for the wide receiver, 2024 was his most productive year, with 361 yards in six games, the most in a campaign for him. He will miss out on the games against the Tennessee Titans at home and Green Bay Packers on the road. Here is what his head coach, Dan Campbell, said about the matter.

“I know this: we’ve dangled a rope down on the way up, we can’t wait for anybody, and over a year ago, he started climbing his way up, and he got to us, and maybe he lost his grip, but he’ll climb back up again. That rope’s still there, it’s tied to us and he’ll be just fine. But he’s part of this team, and I trust him.”

The Lions are 1st in the NFC North with a 5-1 record.

With Aidan Hutchinson being placed on injured reserve due to a tibia and fibula fracture that takes 4-6 months to heal, the Detroit Lions filled his roster spot on Tuesday.

The Lions signed defensive end Isaiah Thomas off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. Thomas, who played college football at Oklahoma, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He played in ten games his rookie year, and in the off-season, he stayed in the division and went to the Bengals. He has not recorded a stat during the 2023 or 2024 season, but the Lions hope to tap into his potential, as he stands 6’5’’ and weighs 266 pounds.

The Lions are incredibly thin at defensive end, with Marcus Davenport also on IR, a player they hoped would rush opposite to Hutchinson. Detroit will be counting on Josh Paschal, their second-round draft pick in 2022, to fill in for the missing pieces and breakout. However, Paschal has not yet recorded a sack through three seasons in his NFL career.

Even with the injury concerns, Dan Campbell did not say his team needed to make a trade on Monday and believes in the talent on their roster.

“Yeah. I mean, listen, my job is to coach what’s here, and I’m going to coach the hell out of them, and we are as a staff. And so, yeah, I do (think we can win with what we have). And if we get somebody, great. If we don’t, these are our guys. And the coaches know that. This is what we came into camp with; this is why we develop talent, and it’s next man up, and they’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Lions will play the Minnesota Vikings on the road this week in an in-division matchup between one-loss teams. ESPN Bet currently lists Detroit as a 2.5-point underdog.

Detroit Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell stood by his multiple fourth down calls despite the team’s loss to the San Fransisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. Campbell and the Lions failed to convert various fourth-down attempts during the game, ultimately leading to their collapse after leading 24-7 at halftime.

“It’s hard because we didn’t come through, and it wasn’t able to work out, but I don’t,” Campbell said postgame. “And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get – that’s part of the gig – but it just didn’t work out.”

Detroit had two attempts in particular that left fans asking questions. One was a fourth and two in the third quarter from the 49ers 28-yard line, which resulted in an incomplete pass from quarterback Jared Goff to receiver Josh Reynolds. The other was a similar play from the 49er’s 30-yard line in the fourth quarter but ended in another incomplete pass from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Both drives resulted in turnovers, which could have been short-field goal attempts if the Lions didn’t choose to go for it.

Detroit was outscored 17-7 in the second half, and if they scored a field goal on either of the two fourth downs, the game would have been tied and perhaps gone to overtime. Goff was 25/41 on passes on Sunday night but just couldn’t seem to find any of his receivers down the stretch. The Lions ended the game with more total yards, first downs and total plays, but weren’t able to score late in the game, which became their downfall against the very talented 49ers team.

“A few third downs we wish that we could have converted,” St. Brown said. “We went for it on fourth down a few times; I wish we would have had those. They played well on defense that second half.”

It was the first NFC Championship game for the Detroit Lions since 1991, and the team was closer than ever before to making the all-illusive Super Bowl. They had multiple chances late in the game but the team’s aggressive fourth-down strategy seemed to be the deciding factor and the reason they came up just short.

Despite their shortcomings, the Lions’ game plan in the NFC Championship game wasn’t different from how they were playing all season. Campbell and the Lions went for fourth downs on a league-high 34% of the time but were just unlucky in their late-game attempts against San Fransisco.

“You want to make the most of every opportunity, and we had an opportunity – and we just couldn’t close it out, and it stings,” Campbell said.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that he regrets the way that his team treated quarterback Jared Goff before trading him to the Detroit Lions. Goff will play the Rams in the first round of the NFL Playoffs this weekend.

“I’ll never run away from that. But the further you get away from it, the more that you try to grow as a man, as a person, as the leader that you want to become — he deserved better than the way that it all went down. I’ll acknowledge that,” McVay told reporters. “And I think he knows that, too. And you know, and I’m not afraid to admit those things. But, I think we’re all better, being able to look back on those things. And I do have more appreciation for him as time goes on.”

In their first playoff game in nearly a decade, it is poetic that Goff and the Lions are facing the McVay and the Rams in the first round. A trade between the two teams three years ago defined their franchises to this day, sending two quarterbacks on vastly different trajectories that will briefly converge again this weekend.

Despite leading Los Angeles to four straight winning seasons between 2017 and 2020, including a trip to the Super Bowl in 2018, Goff was traded away to the Detroit Lions before the 2021 season. At the time, McVay and others in the Rams organization simply did not believe in his ability to lead the team going forward. Goff’s replacement, longtime Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory the following year.

While McVay and Stafford caught fire immediately and won a championship, Goff struggled during a tumultuous rebuild in Detroit. In his first season with the Lions, they went 3-13-1. Over time, however, Goff and Lions head coach Dan Campbell have worked together to cultivate one of the most exciting teams in the NFL.

“Until you’re around [Goff], like I’ve been around him, I don’t want to say it surprised me, but yet, you really get to understand just how resilient he is and how his ability to bounce back – he can look at a situation and take it for what it is,” Campbell said of his quarterback at the end of the 2023 regular season.

In 2023, Goff led an offense featuring star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. Running backs David Montgomery and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs both thrived in the backfield as well. Goff threw a career-high 407 completions for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns, leading Detroit to a 12-5 record and its first division title since 1993.

As the third seed in the NFL Playoffs, the Lions will host their first playoff game against McVay and the sixth-seeded Rams. It will be Stafford’s first game at Ford Field since his 2021 departure.

“The opportunity happens to be in Detroit, which is fun for me on a personal level,” Stafford said Wednesday. “It is going to be rocking there. They haven’t had a playoff game there in about 30 years or whatever it is. So it will be a great atmosphere.”

As for Goff, the once-disrespected quarterback leading another team to the playoffs, he told ESPN that he will never forget the trade that sent him to Detroit. But more than anything, he went on to say that he is playing this weekend to win a playoff game for a franchise long overdue for one.

“I so badly want to win a playoff game for this city that hasn’t had one in so long,” Goff said. “We’ve got a home playoff game for the first time in so long and that’s so much more important than anything personally for me. I want to be a part of this win and do my job the best of my ability.”

The Detroit Lions have elevated quarterback Hendon Hooker to the main roster, making him the team’s new third-string passer behind Jared Goff and Teddy Bridgewater. The rookie out of the University of Tennessee was selected by Detroit in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Though the Lions have no intention of using Hooker for any meaningful snaps this season, the team is elevating him in order to work with him on the main roster. In order to make the space for him, the team cut kicker Riley Patterson, who has struggled all season on both field goals and extra point attempts.

Michael Badgley will now make kicks for the team.

Hooker’s NFL career has begun slowly due to an ACL injury he suffered while at Tennessee in 2022. The setback hurt his draft stock and has delayed his NFL debut. After overseeing his progress all summer and most of the regular season, Detroit opened a three-week reactivation window for Hooker in late November and finally added him to the roster Wednesday.

When Hooker first returned to practice several weeks ago, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that he had been looking forward to working with the young quarterback.

“By rule, we can’t coach him (without activating him),” Campbell said at the time. “So, that’s why. I mean we can have him in meetings, but he can’t be out there and going through any fundamental work. You’ve just got to kind of stand there. So, that’s where it helps, to be able to actually do individual work with him, have him take a snap. That’s why it’s big.”

Some have speculated that Hooker could challenge Goff for the starting job as soon as 2024, depending on Goff’s performance this year. The current starter, who enters free agency in 2025, has led the team to a 10-4 record this year, but he has also been inconsistent at times, particularly on the road. Still, with a playoff run likely, Hooker will have to thoroughly impress coaches to take the starting job away from Goff in the near future.

The Detroit Lions signed free agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater Monday, reuniting the journeyman backup with head coach Dan Campbell. The two worked together as members of the New Orleans Saints when Bridgewater was there from 2018 to 2019.

Though Bridgewater isn’t expected to compete with quarterback Jared Goff for the starting job but could very well become the team’s backup ahead of veteran Nate Sudfeld. Now in his third year as Detroit’s head coach, Campbell is looking to ensure that the team continues moving forward after two steadily improving seasons.

“We’re Year 3 and I think we’re in a much better position, and you want to know that you are in the best hands possible. I’ll leave it at that, but that’s also – it’s the competition,” Campbell told reporters on July 25, shortly after Bridgewater’s first visit. “It doesn’t mean that Nate’s out of anything if we go this route if it works out. You’ll feel good about whoever comes out of the fire is going to be the right guy to help you along the way, but yeah, you don’t want the wheels to fall off.”

Since entering the NFL in 2014, Bridgewater has played under center for five different franchises, mostly in emergency situations. His early career with the Minnesota Vikings was derailed by injuries, but as a journeyman, he filled in for the Saints in 2018 and 2019 before playing nearly full seasons for the Panthers and Broncos. He most recently played for the Miami Dolphins, replacing Tua Tagovailoa after the young star suffered a litany of head injuries during the 2023 season.

In nine NFL seasons, two of which were almost completely spent on the injured list in Minnesota, Bridgewater has played in 78 games, amassing 15,120 passing yards and 75 touchdowns through the air. He maintains a 90.5 passer rating over the course of his career.

The Lions entered Week 18 last year with a chance to make the postseason. Though they were unsuccessful, their performance was far removed from their notoriously mediocre reputation. Under Campbell’s leadership, the team has loaded up on young talent and could be poised to make an even more determined playoff run in 2023.

The Lions made headlines this offseason when they made the surprising move of trading longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Rams for Jared Goff and two first-round picks. Detroit signed Dan Campbell as their new head coach and hired Brad Holmes as their general manager and executive vice president. Clearly, the Lions are moving in a completely new direction.

After losing their top wideout in Kenny Golladay to the Giants in free agency, Detroit signed veteran wide receivers Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman. The Lions signed running back Jamaal Williams to backup second-year stud D’Andre Swift.

Last season, the Lions had one of the worst defenses in the league. Detroit allowed the most passing and rushing touchdowns in the league. The Lions hired new defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to hopefully improve the defense.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE BEST DETROIT LIONS TICKET DEALS!

Detroit Lions Schedule:

• Week 1: Sun 09/12 vs San Francisco 49ers
• Week 2: Mon 09/20 at Green Bay Packers
• Week 3: Sun 09/26 vs Baltimore Ravens
• Week 4: Sun 10/03 at Chicago Bears
• Week 5: Sun 10/10 at Minnesota Vikings
• Week 6: Sun 10/17 vs Cincinnati Bengals
• Week 7: Sun 10/24 at Los Angeles Rams
• Week 8: Sun 10/31 vs Philadelphia Eagles
• Week 9: BYE
• Week 10: Sun 11/14 at Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 11: Sun 11/21 at Cleveland Browns
• Week 12: Thu 11/25 vs Chicago Bears
• Week 13: Sun 12/05 vs Minnesota Vikings
• Week 14: Sun 12/12 at Denver Broncos
• Week 15: Sun 12/19 vs Arizona Cardinals
• Week 16: Sun 12/26 at Atlanta Falcons
• Week 17: Sun 1/02 at Seattle Seahawks
• Week 18: Sun 01/09 vs Green Bay Packers

NFC North: The Lions do not have a shot at winning the division even if Aaron Rodgers were to leave the Packers. They would still have to overcome the Bears and Vikings, and both of those teams have better all-around rosters than the Lions. The Lions might be decent on offense if Goff can hold his own, but the defense is not talented enough to compete in the division.

Matchups: The Lions will have to overcome formidable opponents this season. There will be no easy matchups for Detroit. They have a particularly rough stretch in the second half of the season after their Week 9 bye. Between Week 10 and Week 18, the Lions will have to face several playoff contenders such as the Steelers, Browns, Cardinals, Seahawks and Packers.

Overall: The Lions have made offseason moves that demonstrate that this team is moving in a very new direction. This includes hiring a new head coach, general manager and defensive coordinator. The Lions traded away their franchise quarterback in Stafford for a downgrade in Goff. Detroit will not make any big impact this season. They won’t even come close to making the postseason and may finish with one of the worst records in the NFC.

Prediction: The Lions will finish in last place in the division with a 4-13 record.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE BEST DETROIT LIONS TICKET DEALS!