Thursday, May 15, 2025

Lions Links for Thursday 5-15-25

Articles:


TWENTYMAN: Breaking down the Lions' 2025 schedule:  https://www.detroitlions.com/news/breaking-down-detroit-lions-2025-schedule-nfl



Why Do Detroit Lions Trust DE Marcus Davenport?:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/why-detroit-lions-trust-marcus-davenport

Lions' Aidan Hutchinson Looks 'Supernatural' in Offseason Workouts:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-aidan-hutchinson-looks-supernatural-offseason-workouts

Report: Lions' Rival QB Tried to Avoid Going to Bears:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/report-lions-rival-qb-tried-avoid-bears



NFL Analysts Expect Regression From Lions in 2025:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/nfl-analysts-expect-regression-from-lions-2025




Lions' 2025 Schedule Released: Game-by-Game Predictions:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-2025-schedule-released-game-by-game-predictions








Kelvin Sheppard already sees a healthy Hutchinson: "That's how I know you're back":  https://www.audacy.com/971theticket/sports/detroit-lions/detroit-lions-kelvin-sheppard-says-aidan-hutchinson-is-back



Lions release their 17-game schedule: Takeaways, key stretch and predictions:  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/nflschedulerelease-45114856/detroit-lions-schedule-2025-takeaways-predictions

Judging five possible overreactions to the full NFL schedule: The 49ers have it easy, right? (The Lions' two-year NFC North title streak will come to an end.  After not winning their division since 1993, the Lions finished first with a 12-5 record in 2023 and repeated as NFC North champs at 15-2 last season. They've seen a lot of turnover on their coaching staff this offseason, with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson now the coach of the Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn the new coach of the Jets. But the roster remains extremely strong on paper, and getting star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson back from his season-ending leg injury should only help.  It's important to remember, though, that this division had three playoff teams last season and the Lions needed to beat Minnesota in the final game of the regular season to seal their second straight division title.  Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION.  Not to take anything at all away from the brilliant season that Dan Campbell's bunch just had, but you might recall that 15 of the 18 games they played (including their playoff matchup) were indoors. Sure, they won all three of their outdoor games -- at Green Bay in Week 9, at Chicago in Week 16 and at San Francisco in Week 17. But let's not forget that Lions quarterback Jared Goff has a 51.4 career QBR and a 1.9 career TD/INT ratio in outdoor games versus a 61.7 QBR and a 3.2 TD/INT ratio in indoor games.  Why does this matter? Well, this season's Lions schedule features seven outdoor games. In addition to their annual in-division trips to Green Bay and Chicago, the Lions play at Philadelphia, Washington, Kansas City, Baltimore and Cincinnati. And of Detroit's nine road opponents, seven made the playoffs in 2024. The Lions' road foes this season combined for a .667 win percentage in 2024, giving Detroit the toughest road strength of schedule by any team in the Super Bowl era.  Factor in the strength of the division, nearly half of their games being outdoors and having to play road matchups against five teams that went deeper than they did in the 2024 postseason, and the Lions' path to a three-peat in the NFC North looks very daunting.):  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/nflschedulerelease-45144409/2025-nfl-schedule-release-overreactions-takeaways-best-games-opponents-matchups

Ranking the 12 best revenge games of the 2025 NFL season (4. Detroit Lions at Washington Commanders (Week 10):  This game might not feature the pure vitriol of some listed below it, but it still offers a showdown between two NFC contenders, including one with a bitter taste in its mouth. Washington stunned the injury-riddled Lions in the divisional round last season, knocking off Detroit by a 45-31 score.  Detroit, which finished the 2024 season second in PFF overall grade (93.8), lost both of its marquee coordinators but returned most of the nucleus from its 15-2 team a season ago, including Aidan Hutchinson (95.0 PFF pass-rushing grade). Meanwhile, the upstart Commanders finished fourth in offensive EPA per play and have only upgraded that unit with additions such as Deebo Samuel (72.1 PFF receiving grade) and Laremy Tunsil (89.1 PFF pass-blocking grade).  For most of last year, the Lions seemed to be one of the two best teams in football, but we never even got to see them in the NFC Championship game. This 2025 rematch will be their opportunity to avenge that defeat in a critical game for NFC seeding.10. Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Rams (Week 15). The Lions and Rams have encountered one another quite a bit in the past two seasons, squaring off in the 2023 NFC wild-card round and in an overtime thriller to begin the 2024 season. But this matchup is distinct in representing Jared Goff’s second return to Los Angeles after elevating Detroit to contender status.  As the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, Goff played only five seasons with the Rams, catalyzing the team’s run to Super Bowl 53 but accumulating a 78.1 PFF passing grade that ranked only 18th among 29 qualified quarterbacks from 2016-20. Consequently, the Rams executed a league-changing trade, sending Goff to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford, who has fared better since becoming a Ram (86.5 PFF passing grade).  Goff has rounded into form with the Lions, posting an 80.1 PFF passing grade since going to Detroit and galvanizing the team’s turnaround. Now, he’ll return to his old city for the second time with much more confidence, looking for a better result than a loss in 2021.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-ranking-best-revenge-games-2025-nfl-season

2025 NFL schedule, NFC North: Takeaways, full list of games for Bears, Packers, Lions, Vikings (Three biggest takeaways:  1. Tough way to start. The Lions better be humming out of the gate. They’ll play four of their first six games on the road and none of them will be easy (Green Bay, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Kansas City). Throw in a Week 2 home game with the Bears -- a team led by former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson -- and you can see where this could be heading. Detroit will have to send a strong message to the rest of the league early.  2. Season’s Meetings. There won’t be a ton of family time for the Lions around the holidays this year. Along with hosting their traditional Thanksgiving Day game, this year against the Packers, Detroit will travel to Minnesota on Christmas Day. Marquee games are great for the audience at home. It’s a different story when you’re playing on short rest late in the campaign.  3. The end of the season isn’t so great, either. Detroit’s last four games include three road trips against teams with serious playoff aspirations: the Rams, the Vikings and the Bears in the season finale. In other words, it’s going to be difficult for the Lions to win 15 games in consecutive years.  NFL Research note:  The Lions have 11 games against 2024 playoff teams -- tied with the Eagles for most in the NFL.):  https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-schedule-nfc-north-takeaways-full-list-of-games-for-bears-packers-lions-vikings

NFL schedule: Each NFC team's win total projection for 2025 season (Lions - 10.0.  The Lions happen to have the toughest schedule in my model, and they are not helped by the fact that the NFC North is the division in which all four teams are projected to be separated by the fewest number of wins. They go to Lambeau Field, host the Bears, head to Baltimore, Cincinnati and Kansas City and then host the Bucs, all before Week 8. One positive spin to consider: If Detroit can make it through that gauntlet, the team will have truly been battle-tested ahead of the postseason.):  https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-schedule-each-nfc-team-s-win-total-projection-for-2025-season

2025 Detroit Lions Schedule: Win-loss record prediction and full list of games:  https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2025-detroit-lions-schedule-win-loss-prediction-after-schedule-release

2025 NFL schedule: 49ers, Vikings among biggest winners and losers (Losers - Detroit Lions:  It's hard to repeat a 15-2 regular-season record with any schedule, let alone what Detroit faces this fall. They have nine road games, and seven of them are against 2024 playoff teams, including trips to both Super Bowl teams. The other road games are the Bengals and what should be an improved Bears team. Their season is bookended by the three division games, opening at Green Bay and closing at Minnesota and Chicago.   There's a wild stretch where Detroit plays four straight games against AFC opponents from Weeks 3-6, including trips to Baltimore, Cincinnati and Kansas City. The Lions come out of their Week 8 bye with a three-week stretch that could mirror a playoff run: home against Minnesota, then at Washington, then at Philadelphia. First-place schedules are always hard, but this is a daunting schedule for a team that lost both of its coordinators to head coaching jobs in the offseason.):  https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/winners-losers-2025-nfl-schedule-release





152025 NFL schedule: Good and bad of every team's slate (Detroit Lions - One good thing for the Lions: The only thing good about the Lions' schedule is that they get three straight home games starting in Week 12 (Giants, Packers, Cowboys), but even that's not ideal, because the Lions will have to play those three games in just 11 days with a Sunday game followed by a Thursday game and another Thursday game.   One bad thing for the Lions: The Lions have eight road games against teams that finished above .500 last season, which is the most in NFL history. In the first six weeks of the season alone, the Lions will play road games at Green Bay, at Baltimore, at Cincinnati and at Kansas City. The Lions didn't suffer their second loss until Week 15 last season, but with that slate, they might have two losses before they get to their Week 8 bye. The Lions are also the only team in the NFL that has to close the season with two straight DIVISIONAL road games.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2025-nfl-schedule-breakdown-one-good-thing-and-one-bad-thing-every-team-will-face-this-season/

2025 NFL schedule: Ranking every single Week 1 game (2. Lions at Packers:  The Packers used to own the NFC North rivalry with the Lions, but the Lions have been in the driver's seat of late. They've won six of the past seven matchups with Green Bay -- last winning in this series in 2023 on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. The last meeting between these teams ended when Detroit drained a 35-yard field goal as time expired to seal a 34-31 victory at Ford Field. These two teams are incredibly close in ability to each other despite recent results. Plus, Packers quarterback Jordan Love dealt with lower body injuries all season long. He returns healthy in Week 1 with an upgraded supporting cast thanks to the free agency signing of 49ers guard Aaron Banks and the Packers drafting two wide receiver in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft: Texas' Matthew Golden and TCU's Savion Williams. The Lions were the NFL's highest-scoring offense in 2024, but they have a new offensive coordinator (John Morton) and a new defensive coordinator (Kelvin Sheppard). OC Ben Johnson left to be the Bears head coach, and DC Aaron Glenn departed to be the Jets' new head coach. That makes them vulnerable early in the season.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-schedule-2025-ranking-every-week-1-game-including-cowboys-vs-eagles-in-season-opener/

NFL schedule overreactions: Cowboys, Lions overload (It's stupid to have the Lions AND Cowboys on Christmas  - Overreaction or reality: Reality.  The Lions and Cowboys are the Thanksgiving Day staple, with the Lions playing the early Thanksgiving game since 1934 and the Cowboys playing on the holiday every year since 1978. Netflix announced its Christmas Day slate on Wednesday, and the early game features the Cowboys (at Commanders) at 1 p.m. ET and Lions in the 4:30 p.m. game (at Vikings).   Did the NFL really have to pin the Thanksgiving traditionalists on Christmas? The Lions are good and the Cowboys always draw massive ratings, but why did the league insist on having both teams play? Isn't the point of having a Christmas tripleheader every year to feature teams that don't traditionally have a holiday game?   The league got it right with the games last year (Chiefs at Steelers and Ravens at Texans). There are plenty of good NFC teams to feature on Christmas if that's what Netflix wanted -- and it did get it right by featuring the Commanders and Lions in that sense. As for the nightcap, that's Broncos and Chiefs. The Chiefs always get the prime-time and standalone slots these days, but that's not an issue on Christmas since Kansas City doesn't play on Thanksgiving every year. Of course, Kansas City is playing Dallas on Thanksgiving this year.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-schedule-overreactions-cowboys-lions-really-need-to-play-on-christmas-chiefs-in-prime-time-too-much/

Pretty lame for the NFL to have three teams that are playing on Thanksgiving playing on Christmas, especially when two of them play on Thanksgiving every year. :  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-schedule-overreactions-cowboys-lions-really-need-to-play-on-christmas-chiefs-in-prime-time-too-much/

5 Intriguing Matchups You Might’ve Overlooked In 2025 NFL Schedule Release (Week 7: Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions (MNF) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored the fourth-most points in the NFL last season at a clip of 29.5 per game. Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was a legitimate MVP candidate, finishing second in touchdown passes (41) and third in yards (4,500). In 2025, Mayfield's resolve will be tested after losing offensive coordinator Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  If Mayfield and the Buccaneers successfully navigate Coen's exit, the Week 7 Monday Night showdown with the Lions could feature 60-plus points scored. Between the Buccaneers and Lions, these two coaching staffs lost all three of their 2024 coordinators to promotions elsewhere (Todd Bowles doesn't have a defensive coordinator). Bowles and Dan Campbell get to test their true coaching acumen against one another.):  https://thedraftnetwork.com/2025/05/14/nfl-schedule-release-2025-intriguing-matchups

Biggest Winners and Losers of NFL’s 2025-26 Schedule Release (Biggest Losers of the 2025-26 NFL Schedule Release - Detroit Lions:  It’s a tough schedule for the Detroit Lions, there is no tip-toeing around that. The Lions open with a road trip to Green Bay and follow that up with their home opener against Chicago. However, the road is ridiculously stacked after that.  The Lions travel to Baltimore on Monday Night in Week 3, head back home for a game against the Browns before a back-to-back road stretch against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs before getting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night at home.  Following a bye week, the Lions play the Vikings and then have another ridiculously tough two-game road stretch against the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles. But it doesn’t stop there.  In December, the Lions travel to Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Chicago in three of their final four weekends. And sandwiched in between that stretch? A potential game against an Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers team.  If history is any indicator, that doesn’t spell a lot of success for the Lions.):  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-schedule-winners-losers-2025-26/

Breaking Down Every NFL Team’s Schedule: Toughest Stretches, Most Travel Miles, Strength of Schedule, and More (Detroit Lions - Toughest Stretch: vs. Minnesota Vikings, @ Washington Commanders, @ Philadelphia Eagles.  Easiest Stretch: vs. New York Giants, vs. Green Bay Packers, vs. Dallas Cowboys
Travel Miles: 11,411 (29th-most out of 32).  Strength of Schedule: 30/32.  Must-Watch Game of the Year: vs. Chicago Bears.  This matchup doesn’t necessarily jump off the page on the surface, especially since the Bears were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. However, former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now the head man in Chicago. His return to Detroit should be an emotional one, and a game he hopes to win against his former team.):  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-schedule-release-team-breakdown-2025/

NFL Win-Loss Predictions 2025: All 272 Games, Playoffs, Final Standings, 2026 Draft Order, and More:  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-win-loss-predictions-2025/

Was it a Reach?: Tyleik Williams:  https://walterfootball.com/wasareach2025twilliams.php

Podcast:


Video:







Why the Lions' NFC North winning streak may be in jeopardy:  https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/45160548

WATCH - Jennifer Hammond reports from Allen Park where many of the Lions defensive coaches addressed the media about the current team:  https://www.fox2detroit.com/video/1642004

Which Christmas Day matchup will have largest playoff implication? 'GMFB':  https://www.nfl.com/videos/which-christmas-day-matchup-will-have-largest-playoff-implication-gmfb

Which game would you love to attend in '25 season? 'GMFB':  https://www.nfl.com/videos/which-game-would-you-love-to-attend-in-25-season-gmfb

Michael Robinson: Commanders are Eagles' No. 1 obstacle in Super Bowl repeat quest | 'Schedule Release '25':  https://www.nfl.com/videos/michael-robinson-commanders-are-eagles-no-1-obstacle-in-super-bowl-repeat-quest-schedule-release-25

Posted by LionsFan at 8:46 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
.main-inner .sidebar .Poll { background-color: #AD966C; padding: 15px; }