The 2024 NFL season is over and analysts are already on to trying to make predictions for the 2025 season. ESPN got a whole group together to predict a few things like which teams will be in the Super Bowl next year and what teams will take a step back.
Four analysts had the Lions in the Super Bowl with Matt Bowen picking them to beat the Ravens in the big game. Three analysts predict the Lions will take a step back in 2025. That’s the one we really want to focus on because it’s both right and wrong at the same time.
On the right side of it, this team won 15 games in 2024. It’s really hard to do that once, Doing it two years in a row is damn near impossible. You have to expect a bit of a step back in the record, but that doesn’t mean it’s a giant step back or anything like that. Maybe the Lions win 12 games instead. That is still a very good season.
The reason why this stepback is projected is what I have some contentions with. I’ll let Pamela Maldonado explain her reasoning as to why the Lions will take a step back.
“Losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators presents a major challenge, as history shows teams often struggle in similar situations. While the Lions are loaded with talent, these coaching changes could shrink the gap between them and the rest of the NFC North.”
This is going to get talked about a lot. The Lions lost a lot of coaches and there are going to be some changes and maybe even some growing pains to go along with those changes. Teams deal with it every year. The Lions have it a bit differently though.
Teams have been interviewing their coaches for three years now. These moves have been expected for a while and that gave the Lions time to form a contingency plan. They’ve known who they wanted to go to and they’ve known what they wanted to be. You’ll notice that they didn’t even really interview anyone for jobs. They filled them pretty fast.
The other thing worth noting is that we just watched a team that had two new coordinators win a Super Bowl just a week ago. Kellen Moore was in his first year in Philadelphia and Vic Fangio was in his first year as the Eagles DC after being let go in Miami.
This might feel like the end of the world, but in reality, it isn’t. At the end of the day, the very talented players are still on the roster and the brains of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes are still here too. The Lions may take a step back, but they should still be expected to be contenders too.