First of three articles.
# Lions final grades: Assessing Detroit’s performance on offense in 2025
Full article at link
===
Quarterbacks: A-
Having a nuanced conversation about Jared Goff is difficult.
Talks about his positives
Talks about his negatives
What can’t go unrecognized is Goff performing as well as he did despite losing perhaps the two most critical people to his previous success with the Lions, in Johnson and Frank Ragnow. Detroit’s rushing attack, which sets the table for play-action success, was wildly inconsistent without Johnson calling plays, and the pass protection, sorely missing Ragnow in the middle, was habitually subpar. Not only was Goff not the reason for Detroit’s shortcomings, he was frequently the reason why the offense wasn’t a total disaster.
Running backs: A-
There’s an inevitable connection between Detroit’s offensive line and Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, but we’ll do our best to focus on the running backs in this section.
Wide receivers: A
Arguably the team’s most talented position group, Detroit’s receivers were uber productive in 2025, with Amon-Ra St. Brown (1,401) and Jameson Williams (1,117) becoming the first duo to each notch 1,100 or more receiving yards in the same season since Miami’s Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle did it in 2022.
…What stopped this section from being an A+ were drops. St. Brown had 10, as tracked by Pro Football Reference, and Williams had 12, the most in either of their careers. Is it possible St. Brown was hampered by a wrist injury he picked up early in the season? Maybe,
Tight ends: D
It’s really a shame what happened to Sam LaPorta, who was on pace for a career year before he suffered a herniated disk that later required season-ending back surgery. LaPorta, in the nine games he played, totaled 489 yards and three touchdowns on 40 receptions. He was a machine with the ball in his hands, compiling 273 yards after the catch. He also caught all seven of his contested tries, and 23 of his grabs moved the chains. With LaPorta in the lineup, the Lions enjoyed 31.4 points per game. Without him, that average fell to 24.8.
Offensive line: D
Boiling an entire team’s issues down to one position is usually too simplistic. But one thing is certain: When comparing 2025 to 2024, the Lions took their largest step back along the offensive line. Ragnow’s sudden retirement in June put the Lions in a bind, especially after Kevin Zeitler left for the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Replacing those exits were Graham Glasgow and Tate Ratledge. Glasgow moved to center from left guard (Christian Mahogany took over responsibilities there) and Ratledge assumed duties on the right side, between Glasgow and Penei Sewell.
Week 1’s loss at Lambeau Field would prove to be a warning. The Lions could hold their own and sometimes even feast when playing inferior opponents, but they struggled — and struggled mightily — against talented defensive fronts. Seven times in 2025, the Lions rushed for fewer than 100 yards, and they lost each of those games. How many times did they rush for less than 100 yards in 2024? Only once, and it came [in a shootout loss to the Buffalo Bills] that featured a combined 13 attempts from Gibbs and Montgomery.
The Lions were incredibly explosive — they ranked first and tied for sixth in rushes of at least 40 and 20 yards, respectively — but maddeningly inconsistent, finishing with a rushing success rate (40.7%) that ranked 22nd, directly behind the New York Jets (41%) and Atlanta Falcons (40.9%). The Lions also ranked 22nd in Expected Points Added (EPA) per rush, at a mark of -0.06. On a down-to-down basis, this rushing offense was mediocre.
This is all without mentioning Goff being sacked a career-high 38 times.
Sewell, an All-Pro for the third straight season, and Taylor Decker did their parts as well as one could’ve reasonably expected. But only so much could be done to offset other areas. Ratledge developed nicely by season’s end, but there are two definitive question marks along the interior, and Decker has openly contemplated retirement. If he calls it a career (and if Glasgow either retires or gets replaced), the Lions will only have one full-time starter from 2024 still on their offensive line in 2026, in Sewell.
