After a pair of downright magical seasons between 2023 and 2024, the Detroit Lions fell back to earth a bit in 2025 and missed the playoffs entirely. But Lions head coach Dan Campbell remained confident that the best days for the franchise are ahead.
Despite infamously saying “This may have been our only shot” after their 2023 NFC Championship Game loss, Campbell said in an interview with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard that the Lions’ “window is not closed.” He said that the team “fell short last year” but believes that they can rally this year and get back to where they were.
“Our window is not closed,” Campbell said. “It’s not closed. That was the whole reason why we did this. We fell short last year. But needed to get in [the playoffs], and now it’s about the matchups, where you’re playing and who you’re playing. We want to be able to do that every year, and sometimes, I’m just saying is what happens is, you want to go all-in for one player, well how do you know that one player doesn’t get hurt?
“Or how do you know the three players behind him don’t get hurt and now you’ve got no depth. Whereas, let’s just get a unit together that we feel like can compete every year and then it’s about in that moment, we’re making those plays and finding a way to win that game.”
The Lions in 2026
Under Dan Campbell’s leadership, the Lions have enjoyed four straight winning seasons. The franchise hasn’t had that level of sustained winning since the 1950s – a full two decades before Campbell was even born.
Over those four years the Lions have had one of the league’s most prolific offenses, ranking top five in both points and yards each season.
But the NFC North is going to be a tough nut for any team to crack in 2026. The Packers and Bears have two bonafide stars at QB in Jordan Love and Caleb Williams, and the Minnesota Vikings may have fixed their QB woes from last year by naming Kyler Murray their new starter.
© Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images.
That said, the Lions still have one of the best collections of skill position groups in the league. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is a formidable group and Jared Goff does a good job of distributing the ball.
All of those players are still in their prime.
Campbell might be onto something here.
