They finished tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the league at 15-2. That set a new franchise record for wins in a season. The team led the NFL with 564 points, the fourth-highest single-season total in NFL annals, and won a second straight NFC North title. The club earned the top seed in the playoffs for the first time. In came the much-improved Washington Commanders to Ford Field. Dan Campbell’s club was well-rested and playoff tested from a year ago.
The Detroit Lions’ defense just wasn’t up to the task vs. Jayden Daniels and company. Washington got plenty of help from Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff, who committed four of the team’s five turnovers, and had an interception returned for a touchdown.
There have already been major changes in the Motor City. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now the head coach in Chicago. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn takes over the top spot with the Jets.
Biggest Positive from 2024
Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs were a potent 1-2 punch in 2023. The former totaled 1,015 on the ground and ran for 13 scores. The latter was a first-round pick a year ago and rushed for 945 yards and 10 TDs. Montgomery missed three games due to injury (ironically, he only played in 14 games in ’23), and totaled 34 fewer carries (775 yards and 12 TDs).
The onus was on Gibbs to take a bigger workload. He responded with 302 touches for 1,929 yards from scrimmage and an NFL-high 20 total TDs. Gibbs was one of the few bright spots (105 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns) in the upset playoff loss to Washington.
Potential UFA that needs to be re-signed
Well-traveled veteran guard Kevin Zeitler has played for five different organizations, and has excelled every team he’s suited up for. It’s hard to believe that the reliable blocker has only been named to one Pro Bowl during his exceptional career.
What is not hard to believe is that the 13-year pro and first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012 was Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 guard this past season with a 86.8 grade. That was topped only by Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom (93.5) and Denver’s Quinn Meinerz (86.9) this past season. With Zeitler at right guard, the Lions’ front was PFF’s fourth-ranked offensive line in 2024.
Needs Fixing
Injuries played a role in the team’s issues on defense, most notably late in the season. Kudos to Aaron Glenn for getting the most out of what he had to work with, and his unit playing more than half the season without standout pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Still, the Commanders made it look awful easy in the divisional round.
While Dan Quinn’s clubs certainly benefitted from five takeaways, Washington’s offense did rack up 481 total yards on 73 plays. The Lions’ defense improved on a yearly basis, but now it's up to Kelvin Sheppard to work some magic after the linebackers coach was promoted to defensive coordinator.