When a team that’s known for being absolute trash, and generally one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL begins to make noise in the league and becomes a team that fans recognize and fear, it’s truly exhilarating. I haven’t been a football fan my entire life, but the year I was born is when this team solidified itself as one of the worst as it became the first team in the history of the league to have an 0-16 record. And when it comes to a whole school year of writing about sports and managing to write pretty much every single one about football, It means a lot to me. For my final column, I want to write about the Detroit Lions and their upcoming season for the 2024-25 season, and where I believe they’ll end up at the end of the season.
When it comes to the schedule I won’t be including the preseason games, and only focus on writing about each regular season game.
Week One: Los Angeles Rams
This game will show a rematch between the Rams and Lions, where they had last faced off in the playoffs in which the Lions had finally broken the no-playoff win streak that had been rotting since 1991. The Lions had defeated the Rams in a game that seemingly couldn’t call a proper penalty on the Rams. With the Lions having a much improved secondary compared to the year before, I don’t think it will be as much of a game as it was in the playoffs, I believe the Lions will win this since the Rams had lost Aaron Donald and the improvement to the secondary for the Lions. In that playoff game, the Offensive line was holding the Rams back, and even though they had allowed three sacks, two of the sacks were from Ernest Jones IV, who is an incredible linebacker. I believe that this game will end with a final score of 34-14 with the Lions winning.
Week Two: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With another playoff rematch directly after another, the Lions face off against the Buccaneers, where the Lions had previously defeated them 31-23. I honestly have no reason to give the Buccaneers the chance or the thought of them winning, the team is an aging team with no stars. The Buccaneers had used their first-round pick this season to select Graham Burton from Duke University, I’m not entirely saying that selecting a Duke offensive lineman is a bad choice but plenty of Lions fans remember drafting a Duke lineman in the first round and it didn’t turn out well. Even if Graham Burton turns out to be a star player, it won’t affect much, as the Lions had improved their defensive line by a decent margin over the offseason. Mike Evans is still a great receiver and could do a decent job against the Lions, but I don’t believe he can do enough to carry this team to a win. And when it comes to the runningbacks, Rachaad White isn’t a serviceable running back and in my opinion, is one of the worst in the league as of right now. I believe this game will end up giving the Lions their second win of the season with a final score of 24-10 with the Lions coming out on top.
Week Three: Arizona Cardinals
While I do believe that the Cardinals are a team that is going to make a decent amount of noise in the league this year, they’re going to get destroyed by the Lions. Marvin Harrison Jr. will have a decent game, but in my eyes, I’m seeing a Lions vs Ravens 2023 regular-season type of game. It will be complete domination and the offensive line for the Lions will be able to do nearly perfect while I expect the complete opposite for the Cardinals’ offensive line. Aidan Hutchinson will get plenty of pressures this game and make Paris Johnson Jr. look like a terrible tackle. And when it comes to the Detroit Lions offense, I don’t think there will be a more dominant offense showing the entire season compared to how they’ll do in this game. I’m predicting that the Lions will win 45-7 in this game, bringing them to 3-0.
Week Four: Seattle Seahawks
The last time the Lions had beaten the Seahawks, I was four years old finger painting at a YMCA. It’s genuinely been so long since the Lions beat the Seahawks but I truly think that the streak can finally be broken. What a lot of people don’t realize is that our cornerback for the Lions last season was Cameron Sutton. Mind you, he wasn’t in the position for a starting cornerback position, but on the Steelers, he was a serviceable backup. When it came to PFF, Cameron Sutton barely made it over the 50 mark where he landed with a 56 grade. He was only able to get a single interception despite the fact he was targeted 89 times. The Seahawks don’t have a strong enough team to defeat the Lions this time, and can’t exploit a weak spot on our team like they were able to last season. I don’t think it will be a blowout however and have the Lions breaking a 12-year streak and winning 28-24.
Week Five: Bye Week
Week Six: Dallas Cowboys
Before I even start talking about the Cowboys, Decker was Eligible. The Cowboys had decided over this offseason that signing players were pretty much forbidden, but they hadn’t exactly done that since they did eventually sign Erick Kendricks, a linebacker from the Los Angeles Chargers, which was their only signing of the offseason. When it comes to the draft, the Cowboys drafted offensive lineman Tyler Guyton with their first-round pick, which is their only notable draft pick. The Cowboys will probably be using Guyton as a replacement for Tyron Smith, which they had traded to the New York Jets, but I don’t think it will help them enough. D.J. Reader will have one of his worst games this season for the Detroit Lions but Aidan Hutchinson will have the exact opposite. The Cowboys don’t have runningbacks that you can even consider serviceable, as their current starting runningback is Ezekiel Elliot, and no, not 2016 Ezekiel Elliott, the Ezekiel Elliott who sat behind Rhamondre Stevenson on the New England Patriots and is now 28 years old. I don’t think that the Cowboys will be able to produce enough on offense, and while their secondary is looking pretty solid, I believe the Lions will maintain their undefeated streak stretch their record to 5-0, and win by a close yet nice win of 28-21
Week Seven: Minnesota Vikings
In 2023, the Minnesota Vikings were swept by the Lions with both games showing similar scores as the Lions had scored 30 points in each game and the Vikings had 24 and 20. The Vikings had mildly improved their team over the offseason as they had made signings with Aaron Jones to improve their running back room. The Vikings had a decent draft where they were able to draft twice in the first round as they picked up JJ McCarthy to fill in the hole that was left by Kirk Cousins, and they were able to draft Dallas Turner, which of course will improve the defensive line. However, Dallas Turner isn’t going to have much of an impact when playing against the Lions, when it comes to rookie defensive linemen I only have much confidence in Chop Robinson, who had played in a division in college football where offensive linemen were the peak in the CFB. I’m expecting this game to continue on the undefeated streak and bring the Lions to a 6-0 record with this being one of the first games they play each other. When it comes to the score of the game, I believe that the Lions will win 35-20.
Week Eight: Tennessee Titans
With the Titans being a team that I see a lot of potential in, I believe that this team will be the first team to beat the Lions this season. I expect an incredible game where the defensive line gets pressure on Jared Goff which will allow the cornerback duo, Sneed and Awuzie, to perform incredibly well. While it may be a loss, players that I expect to perform well this game for the Lions are Jack Campbell, as I believe he will stop the running game heavy, and Jahmyr Gibbs, who will have plenty of outside runs that will bring him into the endzone multiple times. The Titans will have a really good performance in the receiving room, as I believe Calvin Ridley will perform better than he did last year, topping his best year in the league again. It won’t be pretty, but I’m just assuming that Amani Hooker will have one to two interceptions this game. As this loss will break the streak, it will bring the Lions’ record to 6-1, and the final score of the game will be 17-28 with the Titans winning.
Week Nine: Green Bay Packers
When the Packers lost Aaron Rodgers, people began clowning them; people would say the Packers wouldn’t be good. This team lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round and barely lost as well. The Packers have made some noise in the NFL, but I don’t understand why people are beginning to overrate them. I believe that this will be one of the best games for the Lions, and I expect a spectacular game for the offense at that. While Josh Jacobs is on the Packers now, the Packers are too without David Bahktiari, who was easily a top-three player on the offense. Jordan Love will be under plenty of pressure this game as Elgton Jenkins just simply isn’t a god. I have the Lions winning this game. The Packers simply haven’t made enough movement during the offseason overall, as just because you gain a good running back, doesn’t mean it entirely makes up for the offensive line. I have the Lions winning 40-17 this game, which yes, may be absurd but it’s just a prediction.
Week Ten: Houston Texans
I love the Texans, and I love the moves they have been making throughout the previous year and this off-season. The Texans have a receiving core that could be said to be one of the best, but we can’t forget the terrible way that Stefon Diggs ended his last season on the Buffalo Bills. Stefon Diggs is said to be their best receiver but he couldn’t catch balls for his own life. The Defense is all right, but I don’t see it doing too much to stop the Lions. The Texans have an incredible secondary that isn’t talked about enough by analysts or fans enough.I see this game turning out to be a shootout between the two offenses, with the Lions’ defense even scoring a pick-six. I see the Houston Texans winning this game, however, with a final score of 40-34.
Week Eleven: Jacksonville Jaguars
With a team that in recent years, has been terrible, I’m expecting them to go back to being a terrible team. They have done terribly throughout the end of their 2023-24 season, and I don’t expect them to suddenly start improving again. When you lose Calvin Ridley, and your receiving core declines heavily, you don’t have much to talk about. Travis Etienne isn’t that good of a running back and this offense just isn’t all-around productive, not to mention the poor offensive line. The Defense shows off an alright defensive line but that’s not a concern when it comes to the Detroit Lions. I don’t think it will be a close game and I think this is where many people see the flaws in the Jaguars, and this game will end with a Lions win, 28-13, bringing the Lions to an 8-2 record.
Week Twelve: Indianapolis Colts
A team that is full of young and promising players, especially on the offense. This team had ranked second in the AFC South being behind the Houston Texans. Anthony Richardson will be back to play for the Colts as his season ended shortly previously, suffering a grade three AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder. He was one of the most promising rookies in the last year, but only being able to play five games was unfortunate for the former Gator will get to play again, and potentially show that he is better than C.J. Stroud. As much hype as the Colts have this year, I don’t believe they will even be that good, and will face a loss to the Lions as the defense in general, and the offensive line isn’t going to be enough to stop the Lions. Anthony Richardson will probably have a lot of rushing yards this game, as one of his strong points is his rushing ability. I believe that this game will end with a final score of 27-21 with the Lions winning.
Week Thirteen: Chicago Bears
With a team that has an incredible offense, the Chicago Bears are one of the most hyped-up teams as of right now and have a lot to prove to me. I don’t believe that the Bears will be as good as people are expecting them to be. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re a bad team anymore. I believe that when the Bears had last beat the Detroit Lions, the biggest issue the Lions had was letting Justin Fields escape the pocket and his rushing ability taking them out. But the Bears now have a rookie quarterback who isn’t as known for his rushing and scrambling abilities. I think that the Lions will win this game seeing how we have a much better defensive line, and with the offensive line not declining that much, they have enough power to take out the Bears for game one of the season. I think this game will be a great passing game for Caleb Williams, but the Lions offense will be too much for the Bears and the Lions will come out on top 30-20.
Week Fourteen: Green Bay Packers
The Packers are back, and they’re playing at Ford Field this time. It’s going to be a tough game, there isn’t much to talk about, but I believe during this game they’ll try to do as many short passes and inside runs as possible. They had beaten the Lions during the 2023 Thanksgiving with that strategy but I don’t believe it will work as effectively, with D.J. Reader being able to prevent a lot more inside runs. As bizarre as it may seem, especially to Packers fans, I believe this will be a sweep for the Lions and the Lions come out on top for a second game winning 30-24, bringing them to an 11-2 record.
Week Fifteen: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have seen a ton of decline throughout the offseason, and a lot of people have noticed. However, I think Keon Coleman will be a breakout player, regardless of how I ranked him amongst other rookie wide receivers. I think this will be a bad game for the Lions, and I think it will be a lot of mistakes made by the Defense, and fans of both teams will see a detrimental game for the Lions which will cause a lot of questions, I believe that the Bills will win this game 27-14. Bringing the Lions to an 11-3 record.
Week Sixteen: Chicago Bears
This will be a rematch, with the Lions playing at Soldier Field this time. The Bears will have an excellent game when it comes to the passing and the secondary, as I believe the secondary for the Bears will have multiple picks. But unfortunately, I believe that the defensive line for the Bears will do terribly, and allow plenty of inside runs that David Montgomery will take advantage of. This won’t be a great game for Jared Goff, and I believe this will make a losing streak for the Lions as they’ll lose this game 27-23, bringing them to an 11-4 record.
Week Seventeen: San Francisco 49ers
A rematch of the NFC Championship is back, and the Lions will play at the 49ers. This time, we won’t have a C.J. Gardner Johnson to sell the game though, I believe simply because of him, we lost the Championship game and that the Lions will beat a powerhouse in the league. This game will be incredible for Jahmyr Gibbs like it was in the Championship game, and Dan Campbell will be able to keep his composure. It will be one of the best tight ends versing the other. I also believe since the Lions have D.J. Reader, that he will make a lot of work against the interior of the offensive line. I also am making a prediction that Kyle Juczyk, the fullback for the 49ers, will be injured this game, and that will make a massive impact on the blocking and pressure on Brock Purdy. This game may not be a blowout, but it will be a nice way to go to the playoffs as they will win 40-32
Week Eighteen: Minnesota Vikings
I believe this will be a repeat, another sweep on a division rival. The Lions are fired up and ready for the playoffs, so this could mean that they’re going to not go as hard; but this is a Dan Campbell run team, the Lions are going to run over the Vikings and ignore them. There isn’t much to say about this game other than the fact that the Lions are about to win by a big margin. Aidan Hutchinson can hopefully get another interception this season, and I’m hoping that this can be the game where he gets one of them. With a final score of 45-14, the Lions are going into the playoffs hot as they win the NFC North with a final record of 13-4.
