The Lions defense wasn’t as bad as you think and yes that matters
Listen, I know what you’re thinking. The Lions allowed 224 points across 8 losses in 2025. The defense gave up points in bunches and watching it happen felt like getting slowly dragged back to the bad old days. But here’s a stat that might add some context to where this defense actually stands going into 2026, and it surprised the hell out of me.
Detroit finished 15th in the league in points allowed per game during losses in 2025. Middle of the pack. Perfectly average. Underwhelming on the surface.
The Lions gave up 224 points across their 8 losses, which works out to 28 points per game in those contests. That number sits closer to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (25.3) than it does to some of the truly awful defensive units across the league. And before you roll your eyes, yeah, I get it. Fifteenth isn’t a number that makes you want to run through a brick wall. But it also isn’t the dumpster fire it felt like in real time.
How the NFC North breaks down
Let’s start with the division rivals because that’s always the most fun.
The Chicago Bears allowed 33 points per game in their 6 losses. That is genuinely terrible. I’ve been saying for months that Bears defense has been propped up by turnovers, and when those turnovers dried up the whole thing fell apart. Chicago got worse this offseason. They could be in serious trouble.
The Green Bay Packers allowed only 21.7 points per game across 7 losses, which is legitimately impressive. A lot of that had to do with Micah Parsons being on that defense, and when you split the numbers between games with him and without him, the difference is stark. They were still solid regardless. That’s a well coached unit.
The Minnesota Vikings came in at 25.8 points per game in losses. Not too far off from the Super Bowl champs. Not too far off from where Detroit sat either.
The best and the worst across the league
The Houston Texans were the most impressive team in this breakdown. In just 5 losses, Houston allowed only 19.2 points per game. That’s elite. Not much else to say about it.
The Buffalo Bills gave up 22.6 points per game in their 5 losses, which is solid. Detroit plays them in Week 2 this season, so we’ll get an early look at where this defense stacks up against a legitimately good offense.
The Philadelphia Eagles were a team I expected to land higher on this list. They didn’t.
Now look at who the Lions are playing
Here’s where this gets interesting.
Detroit is playing a lot of teams from the bad side of this ledger. The Miami Dolphins finished 29th in this metric. The Arizona Cardinals finished 27th. The Bears, as mentioned, finished 30th. The New York Jets came in at 23rd. The Tennessee Titans were 22nd.
This is just another example of how favorable this schedule looks for the Lions on paper. We’ll see what everything looks like once the season gets going, but there are a lot of opponents on this year’s slate who couldn’t stop anyone even in their own losses. That matters.
The Lions sitting at 15th isn’t a number that jumps off the page. But when you consider the matchups ahead and the improvements Detroit has made along the defensive line this offseason, there’s reason to believe that number could trend in the right direction. This defense has pieces.
It’s not elite yet. But it’s not broken either. And for a fanbase that watched defenses get torched week after week, that distinction actually means something.
Does a middling defensive ranking change your expectations for this season or are we all just setting ourselves up for heartbreak again? Drop your take below.
