By Blessing 
The Detroit Lions have come a long way — from being bottom-dwellers in the NFL to earning the top seed in the NFC. But after years of building momentum, 2025 feels like the season where it’s all or nothing.
As training camp kicked off over the weekend, veteran running back David Montgomery made it clear: the Lions aren’t settling anymore.
“Everybody’s tired of being close,” Montgomery told ESPN’s Eric Woodyard. “It’s cool to be close at first, but you don’t want to get comfortable with being close all the time.
“That’s not what you want to be known for, especially when you know you’ve got the guys, you’ve got on this team. You want to finish it, so this is the year for us. The year of the reckoning and the year that we choose that we need to finish.”
In 2023, Detroit came within two quarters of reaching their first Super Bowl before a crushing NFC title game loss. Last season was perhaps more painful — a 15-2 regular season ended abruptly with a Divisional Round loss, despite holding the top seed.
Players like Montgomery haven’t forgotten that sting. He’s more motivated than ever heading into this new chapter.
“This is probably the hungriest that I have been because I feel like a lot of people kind of forget that I’m here in the offense, too,” he said. “So, I’m not here to prove anybody wrong. I’m here to prove myself right and be the best teammate that I can be.
“But I’ve definitely got a big chip on my shoulder.”
Injuries plagued the defense last season, and heading into 2025, the Lions are adjusting to major coaching staff changes and a tough schedule. But head coach Dan Campbell remains as fired up as ever.
“There’s a price to be paid to get yourself back into the dance — back into the tournament — and that will never change,” Campbell said. “If we let that slide at all, then we’re going to be sitting here at home in January, and that’s not what we want.”
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs three straight years since the mid-’90s. This time, the Lions are aiming to do more than just show up — they want to finish the mission.