“Next year is our year.”
That line has become part of the annual ritual for Detroit Lions fans, and for a few straight seasons it actually carried real weight. But after the 2025 campaign, the mood around this team feels different.
Detroit had spent four years building toward something bigger. In 2022, the Lions closed with that memorable Week 18 win over the Packers and sent a message that they were arriving.
In 2023, they went deeper into the playoffs than ever before. Then in 2024, they set a franchise record with 15 regular-season wins before a second-round playoff exit brought everything crashing back down.
After those seasons, it was easy to believe the Super Bowl breakthrough was close. The optimism felt earned.
Then came 2025, and for the first time under Dan Campbell, the Lions took a clear step backward. That has naturally raised the question heading into 2026: how high can this team actually climb?
If you go by ESPN’s prediction model and its full 2026 NFL season preview, Detroit’s top-end win total sits at 13-4, with a 71.4 percent chance to make the playoffs. That means getting into the postseason should be viewed as the baseline, not some lofty dream.
The bigger question is whether this roster can do more than just get in. Can it make a real run? Can it get back into the Super Bowl conversation with teams like the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Seattle Seahawks sitting among the league’s best odds?
There’s a strong case that it can. The offense still has the kind of star power that changes everything, with Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St.
Brown and Penei Sewell all front and center. And the depth on both the offensive and defensive lines looks stronger than it has in a long time.
That doesn’t mean the concerns have disappeared. The new-look offensive line still has to come together, and the cornerback group remains a real issue, both in starting talent and in depth. Those are the kinds of holes that have tripped up the Lions before, and they’re the kind of holes fans in Detroit know all too well.
Still, there are reasons to think those issues might be manageable. The schedule gives Detroit a friendlier start, which should help the offensive line settle in and build chemistry. And while cornerback looks like the biggest weakness on the roster, the Lions have invested in pass rush and assignment-sound safeties in a way that could help cover for it.
So yes, the Super Bowl is absolutely on the table for Detroit in 2026. It would take a few things breaking the Lions’ way, but that’s true for every champion.
In Other News...
Lions Receiver Decision Suddenly Carries Bigger Weight For The Opener
The Lions receiver room looked a little thinner than expected when Detroit trimmed down to four wideouts on its initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season, but the first-week picture is already taking shape. Dan Campbell said veteran Tom Kennedy is expected to play in Week 1, and the staff is looking at him not just as a depth option on offense but as a possible kick returner too.
Dave Fipp has also weighed in on the return-game plan, underscoring that kickoff and punt duties are part of the bigger roster puzzle rather than separate afterthoughts. With only a handful of receivers on the active roster, Kennedys role carries more significance than it might have in camp, and the opener will offer the first real look at how Detroit intends to balance his value on offense with what he can do on special teams. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Receiver Depth Suddenly Looks Like A Real Roster Concern
The Lions entered the week with a thinner wide receiver room than they probably expected after roster cuts, and the picture looks more important when you zoom out beyond Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Detroit is carrying just four receivers right now, which leaves little margin if injuries or another shakeup hit, and it has pushed the depth conversation into the foreground as the team tries to protect an offense that relies heavily on timing and spacing.
One name that naturally comes up in that context is Darius Slayton, who was just released by the Giants and has a history with Lions passing game coordinator Mike Kafka. He would bring experience and another layer to the position, but Detroit is also working within financial limits that could make a move tricky. For a team that wants to stay aggressive without overextending, the fit is obvious enough to keep watching, even if the path to actually making it happen is not especially clean. [Read more 🡒]
Jared Goff And Detroits New OC Face Immediate Pressure In Week 1
The Lions have spent the offseason trying to keep the offensive machine humming, and the early signs from Jared Goffs partnership with new coordinator Drew Petzing have been encouraging. Dan Campbell has praised the way the two have worked together, with Goff also speaking positively about Petzings play-calling and the confidence he has brought to the job, a useful sign for a team that wants continuity even with a new voice shaping the offense.
Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints will be the first real test of how quickly that relationship translates from the meeting room to the field. Petzing does not need to reinvent anything for Detroit, but he does need to show he can fit into what Goff does best while still leaving his own imprint, and that balance is already going to matter when the lights come on. [Read more 🡒]