The Detroit Lions finished with a 9-8 record last season. Detroit finished in last place in the NFC North standings after they won the division in 2023 and in 2024. The Lions are going to have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL during the 2026 NFL season.
Detroit made some tweaks during the offseason. One of the moves they made was hiring Drew Petzing as the new offensive coordinator. He was the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinators a season ago. Will the Lions get back to the playoffs next season under Dan Campbell?
NFL Analyst Thinks That the Detroit Lions Can Win the NFC North This Season
A season ago, the Chicago Bears won the NFC North division with an 11-6 record. The Green Bay Packers had a 9-7-1 record and also qualified for the playoffs. The interesting thing is that the Minnesota Vikings had a 9-8 record last season, but Minnesota swept Detroit.
Austin Mock of the Athletic wrote about some headlines for the upcoming 2026 NFL season after the schedules were released. He wonders if the Lions can go from worst-to-first this season. Mock said,
“Let’s rewind to Christmas of last year, when the Max Brosmer-led Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 23-10. That game ultimately led to the Lions (who finished 9-8) finishing fourth in the NFC North.
Why was that result so important? Well, the Lions now project to face the league’s third-easiest schedule in 2026, per my model, and a significantly easier schedule than they’d be dealing with had they knocked off the Vikings and finished as high as second in the division. My model has them projected as the NFC North favorite this year (10.3 wins), with the Green Bay Packers in second (9.9 wins).
Even putting the schedule boost aside, the Lions dealt with a ton of injuries on defense last year. Through Week 8 of the ’25 season, my model had the Lions as the sixth-best defense by expected points added (EPA); from Week 9 until the end of the season, they fell to 19th. I think it’s fair to say that the Lions have a chance to field a top-10 defense this year, and — with their light schedule — it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’re the division favorite.”
Detroit has a lot of talent back on the roster. Quarterback Jared Goff should have a bounce back season for the Lions. If they were to miss the playoffs with this easy schedule this season, then there are going to be questions about Campbell. This would mean that the loss of Ben Johnson over the last couple of years has been damming for them.
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