The anatomy of an amazing – and humbling – Detroit Lions season
Alim McNeill maneuvered through the Detroit Lions' locker room, using a pair of crutches, working his way through piles of stuff.
Cleats. T-shirts. Gloves.
It was cleanout day — last Sunday, just a few hours after the Lions lost to the Washington Commanders — the worst day in the NFL calendar.
The end.
Guys were walking around the room, saying goodbye to each other. Saying goodbye to the staff. Bro hugs all around.
And McNeill stopped in the middle of the room, a fitting symbol of this season for this team. Here was one of the best players on the roster, one of the most important cogs on the defense, but he ended up on injured reserve, just like so many others — at one point in December, the Lions had nearly two dozen players out with injuries.
“It's tough — definitely tough, not what anybody expected this year,” said McNeill, who had knee surgery and doesn’t know his timetable for return. “We had goals set out for this year, and, you know, things took a different turn.”
Actually, it was more than a different turn. It was a series of violent twists and rips and an ugly break — do not watch the Aidan Hutchinson video. The injuries got so crazy and so prevalent it started to sound like a wacky version of that children’s song: “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes.”
Heads: wide receiver Antoine Green (concussion) and cornerback Carlton Davis III (jaw).
Shoulders: defensive end Nate Lynn and offensive guard Netane Muti.
Knees: McNeill, defensive end John Cominsky, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo.
And toes: OK, so Khalil Dorsey broke his ankle, not his toes. But close enough.
That doesn’t even consider the guys who missed time with hamstrings, triceps, pecs or a broken arm.
“This was one of those bizarre, freakish years,” Lions coach Dan Cambell said.
That rash of injuries clouds everything about this season, changing how everything should be viewed.
First of all, it’s remarkable they endured so many injuries but still won 15 games and captured the NFC North for the second season in a row. That should be considered a tremendous accomplishment — not just for the players and coaches but for the front office and pro scouts who kept this team afloat — and it’s an obvious sign that things are headed in the right direction.
But this season was also a lasting disappointment because the Lions wasted a tremendous opportunity. After earning homefield advantage in the playoffs, the Lions blew it by turning the ball over five times and losing to the sixth-seeded Commanders, a stunning upset considering Washington was an underdog by more than a touchdown.
“And, man, credit Washington, they did what they needed to do, and they played a good game,” Campbell said.
In his next breath, it was clear he thought the Commanders were more than beatable. “I think if we bring our B-game, we’ve got a chance to win that game, and we didn’t bring that,” Campbell said.
Lions GM Brad Holmes, the best executive in the NFL for the second straight year, was even more succinct in his disappointment.
“Obviously it sucks,” Holmes said. “It’s humbling.”
A Lions takeover
Yes, there is reason to feel humbled.
But also tremendous pride.
In the big picture, everything about this season seemed larger than life.
It was a season in which the Lions became the darlings of the NFL — seemingly every time you looked at the TV, the Lions were included in a graphic for being one of the best teams in the NFL (if not the best) until all those injuries.
It was a season with its own sounds: “JA-RED GOFF! JA-RED GOFF!”
It had its own look across Michigan: You couldn’t go into a grocery store or walk down the street or go into a fitness center without seeing several people wearing Lions gear.
It had its own viral moments on social media: Can I get an "Amen!" for those video clips of Dan Campbell locker room speeches?
And the Lions have learned how to take all that excitement and turn it into a tremendous in-stadium experience: from the pulsing lights and music in Ford Field, to bringing back Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson for on-field introductions, to the hype videos, to the eardrum rattling noise.
Everything was clicking at Ford Field.
But also on the road.
Once again, Lions fans took over several stadiums, as the Lions won all eight road games for the first time in franchise history.
“I’ll never forget,” Holmes said. "We were down in Houston and a close friend of mine that I went to college with, that was his first away game that he had attended and he couldn’t stop talking about what our fanbase, how they showed up and basically invaded Houston, and he was just in awe.”
Lions set up for long-term success
So, where does that leave this organization going forward?
The roster is expected to remain largely intact, and the biggest change will happen on the coaching staff. The Lions have lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching gigs with the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets, respectively, as well as defensive line coach Terrell Williams to the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator job.
Cambell’s biggest job this offseason, after hiring replacements, is to coach his new coaches.
Often, when a coordinator joins a new team, there is a shift in philosophy. A change in the type of players who are valued and fit a particular scheme.
Remember the Lions' fascination with big, physical — and often slow — linebackers under Matt Patricia?
That’s not the case under Holmes and Campbell. They don’t look for a physical type — it’s more about the intangibles.
“You’re either a linebacker for the Detroit Lions or not, we don’t alter that from a personnel standpoint,” Holmes said. “There are certain core intangibles that, I don’t care what the arm length is of a specific player, if he doesn’t play like how we need him to play, then it doesn’t fit.”
So, there is little reason to think that Campbell would hire a new coordinator who doesn’t fit the Lions culture. Who doesn’t see eye to eye with Campbell.
Will there be tweaks? Of course.
But not massive changes.
Because The Lions Way is clearly working.
And it starts with Campbell. He has a simple philosophy: Just win the dang game.
However, it takes.
Even though the Lions had an exciting, explosive offense and set a franchise record for point differential (plus-222 points), they didn’t blow everybody out.
The Lions won six games by six points or less.
“I think this year, we were able to display a lot of maturity,” McNeill said. “It's just going to continue to grow for us. We'll still have a fairly young squad, and we still have guys that are still coming into form.”
Most important cogs in place
You need three things, above all else, just to have a chance at success in the NFL: the right GM, the right head coach and the right quarterback.
The Lions have all three, and they are in perfect alignment.
Goff is under contract through the 2028 season, at which point he will be 34.
“I think he’s a better quarterback, a more mature quarterback now than he was then when he had early success,” Holmes said. “The guy’s in his prime, he’s gotten better and better every year, and when I say prime, I think just entering it because he keeps ascending.”
Goff set career highs in touchdown passes (37) and completion percentage (72.4%).
“This thing is set up for Goff to have success with our playmakers, (WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown, our running backs, the O-line, the whole deal, (WR Jameson Williams),” Campbell said.
For Holmes, the biggest challenge this offseason will be to hand out contracts that will keep the core players in place for years to come. Last year, Holmes extended St. Brown, Goff, McNeill and St. Brown, plus offensive linemen Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell And this offseason, he will try to extend Hutchinson and safety Kerby Joseph.
“I just think that we just stay the course and just keep building like we've been," he said. "I do think that we're very close.”
Very close ... to a Super Bowl.
Yes, that’s the biggest change around the Lions.
The goal is not only stated out loud, but it seems possible.
“Obviously, I do think that we are very close, obviously felt really good about this season, but fell short," Holmes said. "We’re going to stay committed and stay continue to the process.”
This time of year, NFL people like to talk about windows of opportunity being open or closed.
But Holmes doesn’t think that way.
“We’ve done a good job of doing our best we can to avoid windows,” Holmes said. “We feel so good about our young core and young nucleus of players, and we feel really good about our quarterback and how he’s playing and him having an MVP-caliber season this year. So, I just think all of the pieces are in place that I don’t really feel walls closing in or a window and again, we kind of make an effort to avoid those kinds of things.”
Whether he wants to use the term, that window is wide open.
Perhaps that’s the most change for this organization.
This end doesn’t feel like an end.
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