For several years now, so much of the Detroit Lions’ identity as a team has come from how they run the football. It is a philosophy that has been etched into the minds of everyone around the organization since the first days of the Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes era. Both in 2023 and 2024, their ability to hand the ball off to running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery has been essential to their success. However, for the majority of the 2025 season, that has not been the case.

Don’t get me wrong—there are still explosive outings from this...

The Detroit Lions (8-6) have their backs against the wall following their Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and now likely will have to win their final three games in order to have a chance at the NFL playoffs. The Lions had a chance to pull off the win over the top-ranked Rams, but a few mistakes at the wrong times cost them in the end.

Will the Lions be punished for their errors in LA? Let’s take a look at how things shook out in this week’s power rankings.

The Ringer: 7 (Previous rank: 5)

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The Detroit Lions are on the verge of missing the playoffs. They almost certainly have to win their remaining three games, and if they do, their odds are actually incredibly high. Per the New York Times, just by winning their last three games, their playoff odds jump to 94-95 percent.

Even if the Lions lose on Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, they almost certainly won’t be mathematically eliminated. However, there is very specific scenario that would bounce the Lions from the playoffs in Week 16.

How the Lions could be eliminated in Week 16

You see, the Chicago Bears...

The Detroit Lions’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams feels like the last slip-up this team can afford. While there are unlikely paths for Detroit to get in with a 2-1 finish in their last three games, the reality is Detroit almost certainly needs to win out, and even if they do, there’s a small chance the Lions still don’t make the playoffs.

So if the Lions want to win the Super Bowl this year, that means they essentially need to win seven straight games: three to finish off the regular season and four in the postseason. For a team...

For a few brief moments—when Aidan Hutchinson’s red-zone interception immediately turned into a Jared Goff strike to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the very next play, or when Goff hit Jameson Williams for a 31-yard touchdown to briefly take a 24–14 lead late in the second quarter—it finally felt like this Lions team had rediscovered its identity. They looked ready for their close-up again in La La Land. For a fleeting stretch, they resembled the 2023 and 2024 versions of themselves.

But it dissipated just as quickly.

Soon after, the Lions looked more like the team that hasn’t won consecutive games...

The Detroit Lions’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams certainly made a dent in their opportunity to make the playoffs. By some estimations, a win would have put the Lions’ odds well over 60% to make the playoffs—despite the fact that they would be still be in the eighth seed after Week 15.

Now those odds have taken a fairly significant dip. Detroit enters Week 16 two spots out of a playoff spot with only three games remaining. As a reminder, here’s what the NFC playoff picture looks like right now:

Division leaders:

1. Rams: 11-3
2. Bears: 10-4 3....

If there’s anything that Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams made clear, it’s that the Detroit Lions are probably not included in the top tier of NFL teams right now. In fact, when you look at their overall schedule right now, the only wins over a team currently in a playoff spot are their decisive win over the 7-7 Buccaneers and a blowout of the early-season Chicago Bears. As for other playoff teams they’ve faced, they lost to the Packers (twice), Eagles, and Rams.

To be fair, they were plenty competitive with each team, aside from their Week 1...

Week 15 comes to a close with a “Monday Night Football” matchup featuring the Miami Dolphins (6-7) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6). The Dolphins are riding a four-game win streak and trying to claw their way back into playoff contention, while the Steelers are trying to hold onto their lead in the AFC North.

The Detroit Lions play the Steelers in Week 16, giving fans a prime opportunity to do some pre-scouting ahead of the Lions’ final regular-season game at Ford Field in 2025. The Steelers’ consistency has been all over the map this season, but their division is a...

The Detroit Lions came out of their game against the Los Angeles Rams relatively unscathed when it comes to their injury situation, but the biggest concern was for cornerback Amik Robertson. The Lions’ veteran cornerback left the game early with a hand injury, leaving Detroit’s already-thin secondary even more shorthanded.

On Monday, Lions coach Dan Campbell provided an update on Robertson, and it appears pretty optimistic. After getting an MRI, Campbell is hopeful that Robertson can play this week, but it will depend on how Robertson progresses when out on the practice field.

“I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to...

We often like to play the blame game after a Detroit Lions loss, but in their 41-34 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, there is not just one finger to point. Detroit had their struggles on both sides of the ball. The offense stalled dramatically at the worst possible time, and the defense didn’t capitalize enough times on their opportunities to get off the field.

Let’s break down the entire Lions’ performance with our Week 15 report card.

Quarterback: A-

Hard to blame Jared Goff for anything that happened on Sunday. The Lions quarterback produced stellar...

The Detroit Lions (8-6) dropped a tough game to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, putting them in a precarious situation with just three games remaining in the regular season. With Detroit likely needing to win out to keep their playoff hopes alive, let’s take a look at how the Lions adjusted to all the moving parts on their roster by exploring how they utilized their personnel against the Rams.

Quarterbacks:

• Jared Goff: 64 snaps (100%)
• Kyle Allen: 0 (0%)

With the run game struggling to gain ground, Goff was called upon to pass the ball...

Many fans were left disgruntled over yet another controversial call in a Detroit Lions game.

In the Lions’ 41-34 loss to the Rams in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, every single point mattered. So when a controversial touchdown call late in the third quarter popped up, many were quick to cry foul.

Rams tight end Colby Parkinson looked to be down at the 1-yard line, but it was ruled a 26-yard touchdown, even after review. That gave the Rams a 27-24 lead, that would, in part, ultimately lead to Detroit’s loss. FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino tried to explain the...