The Detroit Lions struggled with consistency throughout the 2025 season, and have been eliminated from postseason contention ahead of their regular season finale.

Since the Lions' game on Christmas was on Thursday, they won't be playing this Sunday while 20 other teams are in action. The Rams and Atlanta Falcons will conclude Week 17 on Monday Night Football.

The Detroit Lions (8-8) are officially eliminated from the 2026 playoffs, following a Week 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. With the postseason out of reach, the Lions are unsurprisingly ranked below the 14 teams expected to compete beyond the regular season.

Brown did not make the cut from 26. Brown, who played 11 NFL seasons for the Lions in 1985-95 and made seven Pro Bowls in his 18-year career, was a semifinalist this year for the first time in his post-playing career.

We are back with our final episode of “Before the Roar,” where myself (Morgan) and my good friend Meko Scott are breaking down the last game of the Detroit Lions’ 2025 season against the Chicago Bears, as well as taking a look ahead to what the offseason might hold.

It’s obvious one of the major problems of the 2025 Detroit Lions was their defense. On a weekly basis, the Lions were giving up explosive play after explosive play, and in key moments, Detroit’s defense just couldn’t get off the field. It only seemed to get worse, as even the Lions’ normally-steady run defense collapsed down the stretch.