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[Detroit Lions]

Madden 26 simulation: Predicting the Detroit Lions’ 2025 season

The Detroit Lions certainly hope their 2025 season goes better than 2024. While the record last year (15-2) will be difficult to improve upon or repeat, they’re hoping their roster doesn’t have much turnover due to injuries. Not only that, they want to improve from last year’s postseason finish. Despite being the top seed in the NFC, the Lions were upset by the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in 2024.

The defending back-to-back NFC North champions are again favorites to win the division, but that doesn’t mean it’s automatic. The Green Bay Packers are behind them in odds, and with more weapons on their offense, they could surprise people. The Minnesota Vikings are in third, despite having a new starting quarterback in J.J. McCarthy. The Chicago Bears are the long shot this year. Even with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson now taking over, they have an uphill climb.

The preseason is still young with just two games under wraps, so season predictions aren’t common this early in August. That doesn’t stop the video game Madden NFL 26 from working, though! Last year, the prediction did have the Lions going back to the NFC title game, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, who they had losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. So while Madden correctly picked the title game matchup, it missed the winner. Can the simulation get it right this year?

Before reading the prediction, here is how I laid out this Lions franchise:

• Difficulty: All-Madden
• Quarter Length: 15 minutes
• Pre-existing injuries: ON
• Final depth chart and roster were my predictions and close to what I believe the team will do

Get your guesses in now, the season is about to start!

First half (Weeks 1-11)​

The Lions disappointingly began the year losing to the Green Bay Packers. They rebounded by giving Johnson the feeling of what it’s like to go up against this high-powered offense to improve to 1-1. In a nice early-season surprise, the Lions defeated the Baltimore Ravens before beating the Cleveland Browns and improving to 3-1. The streak came to a halt, though, as the Lions lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. The good news is the Lions’ streak of not losing two games in a row continued, as they not just rebounded and won, they demolished the Kansas City Chiefs 40-17.

Before going into the bye week on “Monday Night Football,” they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A record of 5-2 before the bye week is not what I expected and Lions fans would be very happy with those results. After the Lions returned from the bye week, they came out hot in a 27-point smack down in their first game against the Minnesota Vikings.

They then got their revenge against the Washington Commanders on the road. Finally, in Week 11, in a matchup many wanted to see in the NFC Championship game last year, the Lions went into Philadelphia and defeated the defending Super Bowl champions, 30-28. So in the first half of the year, the Lions went 8-2, a big surprise looking at their schedule. I’m not saying this is impossible, but I don’t believe this will happen.

Second half (Weeks 12-18)​

After 11 weeks, the Lions finally got bit by the injury bug, as defensive tackle Alim McNeill would be limited, and the Lions’ second-round pick, right guard Tate Ratledge, joined him on the sidelines. Thankfully, both would only miss a month, but in those four games, the Lions slipped up. They defeated the New York Giants, but Thanksgiving turned sour as they get swept by the Packers. They would rebound and defeat the Dallas Cowboys to improve to 10-3.

In Week 15, McNeill and Ratledge returned, but running back Jahmyr Gibbs got injured and was out until the playoffs. The Lions lost to the Los Angeles Rams, and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers defeated the Lions in his final game against Detroit, giving the Lions their first losing streak since October 2022.

The Lions didn’t let the losing streak bother them, though, as they beat both the Vikings and Bears, finishing the season 12-5 and winning the NFC North for a third-straight season. They also clinched the No. 1 seed again, but the bad news was that left guard Christian Mahogany would get injured and be out for the playoffs.

Postseason​

Here is what Madden NFL 26 thinks the playoff field will look like this season. The top seeds don’t come as a surprise, as both teams are going to be among the best teams in their conferences. For the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals sneaking in is interesting, but I wouldn’t be too surprised by it. The Atlanta Falcons coming in as a Wild Card team is more of a surprise, as I am unsure if they can have an above .500 record.

For the AFC, we have lots of surprises. First, the Steelers earning the 2 seed is not what I had on my bingo card. Then you had the Jacksonville Jaguars winning the AFC South over the Houston Texans. Finally, the Las Vegas Raiders made the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season.

In his revenge game against the Lions, quarterback Matthew Stafford would pull off the upset and send the Lions out of the playoffs. So for the second year in a row, the Lions would lose as the top seed in the Divisional Round. Like last season’s simulation, whoever the Lions lost to in the playoffs would go on to the Super Bowl. Unlike last year, the Lions’ opponent won, as the Rams demolished the Raiders 33-7 with Stafford getting his second ring. The game also thinks he will retire after this season, so what a way to go out.

Final results and reaction​

Seeing the Lions once again get the top seed and lose in the first game would be a horrible result for this team. Out of all of the seasons this coaching staff and front office have had, it would be the first one that feels like a step back. While they did do worse, postseason-wise, in 2024, it was understandable given how many injuries they suffered. With this simulation, though, the Lions weren’t down too many players, and in the playoffs, they were only down one starter, and they couldn’t defeat the Rams, who Madden had beating them in the regular season, too.

If the Lions can’t win a playoff game as the top seed, fans might want them to tank a few games in 2026 so they can be the second seed instead. For this season to be successful, winning the Super Bowl is the main goal, but if the team at least appears in the big game, it’s a positive year for them. Appearing in the NFC Championship game is an upgrade from 2024, but Lions fans don’t want the same heartbreak they had in 2023.

When it comes to the stats, quarterback Jared Goff has another solid season, throwing for over 3,000 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The running game was taken over by Gibbs, as he ran for 1,251 yards and nine touchdowns, getting 60+ more carries than David Montgomery, who still led the team in rushing touchdowns with 10 and 747 yards.

The receiving game saw wide receiver Jameson Williams truly take over in this offense, becoming the top option for Goff, leading the team with 1,044 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with 895 yards and nine touchdowns as he regressed with a down year. Tight end Sam LaPorta was similar to 2024, getting 458 yards and five touchdowns.

On defense, EDGE Hutchinson had a monster season, tying T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan for most sacks in a season with 22.5 sacks. Despite that, he still didn’t win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. That went to Watt, who blew the sack record out of the water with 28 sacks! Another notable thing for the defense was seeing EDGE Marcus Davenport finish with 9.5 sacks. If that happens, phew, this defensive line will be scary.

For the turnovers, we saw a huge drop off in interceptions as three players tied for most on the team. Jack Campbell, D.J. Reed, and Terrion Arnold all had two.

In conclusion, I would be very disappointed if this is how the Lions’ 2025 season ended. To finish the regular season on top, only to be knocked off in the first postseason game, would leave a bad taste in your mouth. This team should improve from last year, even if it isn’t record-wise, just because of how many players they will have back and healthy. Do you think the Lions will have a similar fate as in 2024, or could the Lions go further in 2025?

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detr...lar-fate-detroit-lions-2025-season-simulation

 

[Detroit Lions]

Discussion: Which Dolphins player do you want to see the Lions beat in joint practices?

On Wednesday morning, the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins will kick off the first of two joint practices at Allen Park. It figures to be a couple of day of intense practices, good work for the first stringers, with a lot of opinions and takes about both teams.

While the Lions are coming off a league-best 15-2 season, the Dolphins are coming off a bit of a down year. Last season, they finished 8-9 and didn’t make the playoff for the first time under Mike McDaniels. It certainly didn’t help that starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed six games with an injury (Dolphins went 2-4 in those games), but, overall, the offense took a bit of a step back.

Regardless, they still have a bunch of talented players who will give Detroit a great challenge in practice this week.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which Dolphins player do you want to see the Lions neutralize this week in joint practices?​

My answer: My mind immediately goes to two places: the Dolphins interior defensive line, and their receiving corps.

The Lions secondary has had their hands full all of training camp with the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Sam LaPorta. But the Dolphins bring a little bit of a different threat with the speedy Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Now both receivers are considered day-to-day, and it’s unclear if they’ll practice this week, but if they do and Detroit’s secondary holds up nicely, the hype around Detroit’s defensive backs will be rightfully out of control.

I’d also like to see if the Lions interior offensive line can handle what could be one of the best defensive tackle groups in football. Not only are they returning Zach Sieler, who tallied 10 sacks last season, but the Dolphins’ first-round pick—former Wolverine Kenneth Grant—is reportedly have a very strong preseason. I would love to see Detroit’s newly-formed interior offensive line hold those guys in check when it comes to both the run game and pass rush. The Lions offensive line remains one of their biggest question marks, but if they can handle Miami this week, it could be a very good sign.

Which Dolphins player are you hoping to hear struggles against the Lions this week?

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/nfl-...want-to-see-the-lions-beat-in-joint-practices

 

[Detroit Lions]

VIDEO: A full minute of Amon-Ra St. Brown TOASTING the Dolphins defense

One of the benefits of the Detroit Lions holding joint practices is that there is a sharp increase in on-field action and media coverage. The Lions’ award-winning video team was out in full force on Wednesday, and they’re cutting up highlights and dropping videos all over social media.

One of the biggest storylines of Detroit’s first joint practice with the Miami Dolphins was the dominance of Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the Lions’ video team was ready for it.

Here’s a one-minute video montage of St. Brown hauling in 11 receptions against the Dolphins in both one-on-one and team drills, including a sick end zone fade where St. Brown used the cornerback’s helmet to secure a one-handed touchdown catch (third catch in the sequence, showing up at the 14-second mark of the video).

“Yeah, it was a good day,” St. Brown told the media following practice. “Finally get to go against someone else. So that was a lot of fun. You know, you go against the same guys every day in camp, you feel like they start to know the routes that we’re running, the concepts, what we like to run on one-on-ones. So to go against someone new, it felt good. Just feels like they don’t really know all the time what’s coming, so that’s the fun part.”

Enjoy:

Amon-Ra St. Highlight pic.twitter.com/VYc0jmZNKm

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 13, 2025

For full observations on how the Lions defense performed against the Dolphins, check out our Day 1 joint practice observations here. Later on Wednesday night, we’ll have news and notes about the offense from Al Karsten.

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detr...mon-ra-st-brown-toasting-the-dolphins-defense

 

[Detroit Lions]

Lions, Dolphins joint practice Day 2 observations: OL chemistry building

The Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins were back at it on Thursday for the second, and final, joint practice between the two. As with Wednesday, most of the work was given to the first teamers, leaving limited opportunities for the reserves. However, they’ll get their chance on Saturday afternoon when the two teams meet for the Ford Field preseason opener at 1 p.m. ET.

After offering my observations of the Lions defense on Day 1, I shifted my focus entirely to the offense on Day 2. Here’s what I noticed from practice.

Offensive line 1-on-1 standouts​

• Much like Al Karsten noted in his Day 1 observations, it was a near perfect series for the starting offensive line. I had them with wins in seven of their 10 reps, with pushes in two, and the only loss coming to Graham Glasgow, who let Benito Jones slip by him, but still managed to stick with him.
• Penei Sewell absolutely stonewalled Chop Robinson in both of their reps
• Taylor Decker was even more impressive in his two reps against Bradley Chubb. On the first, Chubb had nowhere to go. On the second, Decker showed he’s still got plenty of athleticism with him, shuffling to match Chubb’s speed to the outside.
• Tate Ratledge had one of the more dominant wins of the group, barely giving up an inch to Matthew Butler
• It wasn’t a great series for Kingsley Eguakun, who got blown several yards back by Jordan Phillips, but he did come back with a draw against Zeek Biggers.
• The most surprising standout was relatively-new offensive tackle Gunner Britton, who absolutely handled Cameron Goode. He faced off in a draw the next rep, but it’s also worth noting he repped at both left and right tackle. More on him later.

Physical day running the ball​

The Lions opened team activities with a drill meant to dig themselves out of their own zone. Starting at their own 1-yard line, Detroit fed Montgomery for gains of 3 and 6. On third-and-1, it appeared he got stuffed by crashing linebacker Jordyn Brooks after Ratledge was late to pull, but Montgomery bounced off the tackle anyway and was awarded a first down.

Then the Lions flipped the field and ran red zone drills with the first and second teams. Sione Vaki got a lot of looks with the second team and ran with power. He found the end zone on a 5-yard run, but on a two-point conversion, the Dolphins swarmed him in the backfield. Eguakun and Zach Horton blew their blocks on the play. In a later series, Vaki found the end zone again, running behind center Michael Niese, who walled off the defender nicely. Britton was working in with the second-team offense at right tackle—splitting time with Mason Miller—and he had a very strong run to spring one of Vaki’s touchdowns.

Hendon Hooker only attempted a single pass during red zone drills. On a play-action boot, he had Horton wide open, but missed him badly.

The first-team offense was a little more pass-heavy in their initial red zone series. After a Jahmyr Gibbs run went for just 3 yards, the Lions scored touchdowns on three straight plays—all passes in which the Lions receiver definitively won their coverage. Amon-Ra St won an out-route, Jameson Williams got wide open for a 2-yard score, and Detroit used tempo at the line—a Ben Johnson staple—to catch the Dolphins off guard for an easy touchdown pass to David Montgomery.

Kick return/coverage teams​

I didn’t pay all that much attention to the results of plays on kickoff, because with no live tackling, it gives the deceiving look that every return is for a touchdown. However, I did take note of the personnel for the “starters.” At this point in camp, the Lions are likely making some decisions on who they want to be on these critical special teams plays, so these players are likely in good shape to make the 53-man roster right now.

Kick return “starters”: Rock Ya-Sin, Derrick Barnes, Isaac TeSlaa, Trevor Nowaske, Brock Wright, Ian Kennelly, Nate Lynn, Shane Zylstra, Zach Cunningham, Sione Vaki (returner), and Grant Stuard (returner).

Kick coverage “starters” (missing one player): Rock Ya-Sin, Trevor Nowaske, Grant Stuard, Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki, Derrick Barnes, Pat O’Connor, Avonte Maddox, Isaac TeSlaa, and Jake Bates.

Explosive plays from the offense​

The Lions had a simulated drive start from the 50-yard line, and that’s when the offense really started to open it up again. The very first play was a play-action deep shot to Jameson Williams for an easy score. Jared Goff had perfect protection and laid a perfect ball to Williams, who had a few steps of separation.

They opted to run it back from the 50, and that’s when Montgomery found a huge hole behind Ratledge and Sewell for a 20-yard gain. Williams was also doing a great job blocking downfield. Overall, the Lions opted to run behind Ratledge and Sewell several times on Thursday, and mostly had success. After practice, Ratledge commented on the budding chemistry between him and Sewell.

“I think he knows how I’m going to fit up on double teams, I know how he’s going to fit up on double teams,” Ratledge said. “So kinda just playing off each other has gotten more cleaner and smoother. Instead of just playing football, we’re reacting off each other, knowing what each other are going to do.”

Detroit ran into some trouble late in the drive after St. Brown couldn’t come down with a one-handed grab, and pressure forced a checkdown to Gibbs. However, after an offsides penalty turned a fourth-and-7 into a fourth-and-2, the Lions ran Montgomery behind the right side of the line again for an easy pickup of 7 yards. They opted to call the drill there.

“It makes life pretty easy,” Ratledge continued on Sewell. “A lot of the times, you get help when you’re not expecting it from him, so playing next to him—and also that mentor aspect of it. I can lean on him whenever I have questions in the film room, on the field.”

Watching Jahmyr Gibbs through Barry Sanders’ eyes​

To step out of reporter mode for a second and into fan mode, I was geeking out a bit toward the end of practice when I had unknowingly parked myself right next to Lions legend Barry Sanders during some red zone work. As luck would have it, this series featured a lot of Jahmyr Gibbs, and I got to watch Barry watch Gibbs.

On the first play on the drive, they pitched it out to Gibbs, who had to beat Bradley Chubb one-on-one in the open field. While there was no live tackling, it’s pretty safe to say Chubb would’ve ended up whiffing, and the grin on Sanders’ face told me he agreed. Later in the drive, Gibbs fought through traffic to find a lane for a 5-yard touchdown, and Sanders erupted in applause.

Lions draw with Dolphins in situation drill​

Like on Wednesday, both teams ended with an end-of-game scenario. The scenario on Thursday:

Down 4 points, starting from their own 48-yard line with 59 seconds left and 1 timeout

The Lions offense started with a quick curl to Shane Zylstra, but Goff was nearly intercepted after Kalif Raymond appeared to cut his post route short, and Storm Duck nearly picked it off. Detroit moved the sticks on third down after Goff threw an impromptu shove pass to Zylstra on a scramble play. However, the drive was derailed when Matthew Butler broke free and sacked Goff, who appeared to be looking for a deep shot.

That left the offense still near midfield and without a timeout. Gof was able to get them into the red zone with a nice deepshot to St. Brown for 20 and a quick out to Jameson Williams to stop the clock. But with only time for one pass from the 19-yard line, there was too much traffic for St. Brown to get his hands on an in-breaking pass, and the Dolphins defense won.

However, when Tua Tagovailoa took the field for the Dolphins’ shot at the drill, he would not stay out there long. Amik Robertson broke up the first pass on a quick curl to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Miami probably got away with a should-be sack from Aidan Hutchinson, but just turned it into a few yards on a dump play. Tight end Hayden Rucci dropped a pass after likely feeling a Lions defender closing in on him. And on fourth down, Brian Branch had perfect coverage and knocked away a pass intended for Tarik Black. Four-and-out. Of note: Nick Whiteside was with the first-team offense that drive, giving Terrion Arnold a break.

Other notes:​

• It was another very strong day from Amon-Ra St. Brown. His best play was when the Lions were backed into a third-and-7. St. Brown fought through clear pass interference from Mike Hilton (it drew a flag), still caught the pass, and then had the wherewithal to fight through the tackle to dive forward for the conversion. Gibbs would score on the next play.
• Speaking of… while watching OL/DL drills, I missed out on 7-on-7s. After sharing notes with the Detroit News’ Rich Silva, he pointed out some standouts from those drills. The first team managed just a couple of checkdowns in their first four reps, but in their second series of plays, Goff went 4-for-4, including a pair of touchdowns to St. Brown. With the twos, Isaac TeSlaa scored a touchdown on a bit of a scramble drill.
• Jake Bates was perfect on the day, with consecutive makes from 34, 38, 43, 49, and 53 yards during a special teams period.
• Dan Skipper nearly started a fight—a fairly common occurrence during joint practices. During an 11-on-11 red zone drill, he absolutely crushed K.J. Britt and essentially jumped on top of him after Britt was face-first in the dirt. Britt got up swinging at Skipper after the play, but the two were separated from each other.
• After being limited on Wednesday with cramps, Kalif Raymond was back with the first-team offense for nearly the entire practice.
• After throwing punches on Wednesday, Jameson Williams and Ifeatu Melifonwu were getting in each other’s faces several times, regardless of whether they were lined up opposite each other or not. Both made a few plays on Thursday and immediately let the other know about it.

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detr...tice-day-2-observations-ol-chemistry-building

 

[Detroit Lions]

What is your biggest takeaway after joint practices with the Dolphins?

After an eventful two days of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins in Allen Park, the Detroit Lions are gearing up for what will be their third preseason game of the year against the team on Saturday. For most of the early days of training camp, there were some concerns around whether or not the Lions offense had taken a step back under new offensive coordinator John Morton. While the personnel had not changed much over the course of the offseason, most reports coming out of practices had the defense ahead of the offense by a comfortable margin. At least that is what some people thought prior to Miami coming to town.

Now, after two good days of work against units other than their own, I think most of those worries have been addressed. By most accounts, Wednesday’s session was one of the more lopsided joint practices in sometime. After that, it appeared as though Miami found their footing a bit, making for a more well-rounded practice on Thursday.

There were plenty of standouts to choose from over the two days, and I am sure Lions coach Dan Campbell has to be generally pleased with the work they got in.

What is your biggest takeaway after two days of joint practice with the Dolphins?

It might be a simple one to a lot of people, but Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is a really special player. And I know what you are thinking: “No kidding, Morgan. He is a First Team All-Pro.” And listen, I hear you, but I think because he is so consistent in his approach to the game, sometimes we forget just how amazing he is.

In basketball terms, I would compare St. Brown to a player that is going to get his, night in and night out. The kind of player where at the end of the game, you are going to look up and he will have at minimum 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. It’s just the kind of player he is.

To give more context to the situation, I don’t think the Dolphins’ secondary is among the best in the game, but, simply put, it doesn’t matter when it comes to St. Brown. Star corner, Pro Bowler, it doesn’t matter. He is going to get his. For me personally, it was a nice reminder of how lucky we are as Lions fans right now, and players like St. Brown are at the center of it all.

What about you? What was your biggest takeaway from the joint practices with the Dolphins? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/nfl-...eaway-after-joint-practices-with-the-dolphins