'That's what fuels you': Lions to lean on playoffs miss entering 2026

6 days ago 2

After the Detroit Lions captured a fourth straight winning season with a walk-off, Week 18 winner over the NFC North champion Chicago Bears (11-6), the feelings were bittersweet.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked if Detroit's 19-16 win from Soldier Field can help springboard the franchise into the 2026 NFL season. And Campbell was asked if it's at all like 2022 when the Lions ended the season on an uptick, winning eight of their final 10 games and each of their final two games to finish 9-8.

"Well, I'll say this. I believe that things happen for a reason. Right, wrong or indifferent. When something like this happens, I believe it's going to be for the best, and it's up to Brad (Holmes) and I to make it for the best and the guys that we know we're going to count on that are on this team, so that's how I view it.

"Because, as good as it felt to get that and it's the last one, let's call it what it is, pretty pissed all week and it's a bad feeling. And now we're going into the playoffs and you get to watch everybody else go while you're sitting at home and it's frustrating. So, that's what fuels you. We don't want to be doing that again next year. That's not where we want to be. You got to get in," Campbell said.

The reality is 2025 is not the same as 2022 for the Lions. In 2022, Detroit was mired in a stretch of four straight losing seasons and four straight finishes in the NFC North cellar. The Lions snapped that by winning their final two games to post that 9-8 record and to finish second in the NFC North.

Plus, it was Campbell's second season at the helm, and it was clear that the arrow of the franchise was pointed upwards.

Now, the offseason will be filled with questions about Campbell, Lions quarterback Jared Goff and the rest of the franchise's long-term future. That's to be expected after entering as one of the Super Bowl favorites and exiting 2025 on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

But, the feeling that the Lions and Campbell have at 2025's end can be healthy, too. It's healthy that the Lions' organization is disappointed with this finish. It's healthy that the fan base is frustrated that this group didn't win the NFC North for a third straight season and make another run toward the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance.

It wasn't the expectation heading into 2025. The Lions end 2025 with a 9-8 record and as the fourth-place finisher in the NFC North.

Now, the hard part begins. A long offseason of retooling and reconfiguring this roster to make Campbell's words ring true.

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: 'That's what fuels you': Lions to lean on playoffs miss entering 2026

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