The Detroit Lions were shockingly defeated by the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, which officially eliminates them from playoff contention.
The loss to Minnesota was stunning because the Vikings were starting an undrafted rookie in quarterback Max Brosmer and didn't have a slew of key starters. Not to mention, the Lions were fighting for their playoff lives.
This was a game the Lions should have easily won, yet Detroit failed to so much as show up for what was the team's biggest game of the year.
Now, the Lions are IN LAST PLACE in the NFC North going into Week 18. Let that sink in.
The fact that the Lions were not even close to being the Super Bowl contender many projected them to be this season is a massive stain on head coach Dan Campbell's and general manager Brad Holmes' resumes.
Granted, we expected some regression following a 15-win season, but not to the point that the Lions would miss the postseason.
As a result of this disastrous result, there are no shortage of Lions fans calling for the heads of Campbell and Holmes.
Should Lions fire Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes?
We would say no, but their seats should be incredibly hot going into 2026.
There is no question that Campbell and Holmes did a fantastic job building this thing up, and they did it the right way.
But since the Lions established themselves as an elite team in 2023 and raised expectations, Detroit has folded like a cheap suit in the biggest moments.
First, we had the one-and-done failure against the Washington Commanders in 2024, and now this abysmal showing in 2025.
What makes this more frustrating is Holmes didn't operate like a general manager at the head of a Super Bowl contender. The Lions should have went all in on this season (you know, like the Green Bay Packers did with the Micah Parsons trade) but simply didn't do it.
Detroit never added another impact edge rusher to beef up the pass rush and the lack of consistent pressure was an issue throughout the season.
The Lions lost Kevin Zeitler in free agency and Frank Ragnow retired, but instead of adding some experience upfront, the Lions decided to start two inexperienced guards and slid a clearly declining guard over to center to replace Ragnow.
The result was the Lions' rushing attack producing worse results than last season, and Jared Goff was constantly under pressure against even average pass rushes.
It's almost as if Holmes suffers from "smartest guy in the room syndrome" and refuses to do anything analysts and fans think he should, no matter how much it makes sense for the team to do.
We get it, Holmes has been focused on the team's future financial situation and that has made him hesitant to make any big splashes outside of just re-signing his draft picks, but what will that matter if he doesn't last long enough to see it?
Super Bowl windows are rare, especially in Detroit, and that's why Holmes needed to throw caution to the wind instead of making it through the season with $20 million in cap space left over.
None of that is to say that Campbell is absolved of blame, because he most certainly is not.
Campbell promoted John Morton to offensive coordinator, but Morton barely lasted more than half the season. The Lions' offense wasn't much better under Campbell, either, after he took over play-calling duties.
Then, there's Campbell's obsession with going for it on fourth down like it's illegal to punt the ball and kick field goals, and he routinely makes bad in-game decisions in general.
Is it valid to point to all the injuries as a cause for the Lions' downfall this season?
Sure, but lest we forget that the Lions were arguably more banged-up last season and still managed to win 15 games.
This was also much of the same team Detroit had last season, yet it's going to finish with nearly half the wins. That's a major indictment on the head coach.
Long story short: The Lions need to be much more aggressive in shoring up this roster in 2026 and it should be, at the very least, deep playoff run or bust for the Lions when it comes to the futures of Holmes and Campbell.
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