DETROIT — Jared Goff has spent months answering questions about the Lions’ disappointing 2025 season, and the veteran quarterback said the team will get a chance to leave it behind as it opens 2026. “I think it adds a little bit of a chip on your shoulder, but I think we’re pretty internally motivated and want to win a championship and want to be the last team standing,” Goff said. Detroit opens Week 1 at home Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Both teams missed the playoffs last season and arrive with plenty of new faces, adding uncertainty to the early matchup. In a symbolic move ahead of the opener, Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams chopped off his dreadlocks Wednesday night. Williams, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, said the team has “been on to bigger and better things” and is focused on the upcoming game.
Detroit enters 2026 with the highest projected chance to win the NFC North, at 40 percent, according to ESPN Analytics. The Saints finished 6-11 in 2025. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs urged caution about early narratives, saying, “Every team can win any given Sunday… we didn’t make the playoffs either, so… it’s going to be a tough fight, but we look to win every time.”
The Lions spent the offseason addressing weaknesses and building chemistry. Goff worked to develop a relationship with first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, an exchange the coach described as collaborative and accountability-driven. “He’s doing the same to me, asking questions… I think that back and forth has been fun,” Petzing said.
Detroit could benefit from what the team called the league’s second-easiest schedule in 2026. The Lions’ 2025 collapse included a 5-2 start through their Week 8 bye followed by a 4-6 finish over the final 10 games; from Week 6 onward Detroit did not win consecutive games. Edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson said the club will not carry last season forward. “Whatever’s happened in the past is forgotten and we’re just going to focus everything we have on this year,” he said.
