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The Detroit Lions came into the 2025 season as one of the Super Bowl favorites, fresh off back-to-back division titles and a franchise-record 15-2 season in 2024, earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
But instead of looking like a championship contender, the Lions fell to the bottom of the division. They finished 9-8, just barely clinging to a winning record, and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022. It was also the first time since 2021 they finished last in the NFC North.
Speaking with NFL Network on Monday, quarterback Jared Goff didn’t shy away from how last season felt, and why the team is so “hungry” to get back on top of the division in 2026.
“I think it made us really hungry; it really did,” Goff said about not making the playoffs. “Even though we had a winning record and we were 9-8, it was not good enough. We came in fourth place in our division. We came up short in a lot of ways. Finding a way to win our division first and again get back to the top of our division we had one or two years prior. Then see what happens when we get to the playoffs, but we are hungry; we really are.”
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Goff has become one of the most efficient and reliable quarterbacks in the league since arriving in Detroit in 2021. After a rocky start to his career with the Rams, he’s found new life with the Lions, making three of the last four Pro Bowls and playing a central role in the franchise’s turnaround.
Even in a down 2025 season, Goff still made the Pro Bowl, finishing with 4,564 passing yards, second-most in the NFL, 34 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, his fewest since 2022. He completed 68% of his passes and finished with a passer rating of 105.5, the third-highest mark in the league.
Goff’s ability to perform at such a high level, even as he’s about to turn 32 in October, is part of the reason why expectations remain sky-high for Detroit heading into 2026.
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The Lions may have lost some talent this offseason, but the core — Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson — remains intact.
After tasting what it feels like to be the best team in the NFC two years ago, and then watching the division slip away entirely in 2025, Detroit is ready to prove that last season was just a blip, and the Lions are still legitimate title threats.
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