The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2025 Football Preview book. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2025 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Detroit Lions performed from a penalty perspective in 2024 and where they can improve in 2025.
How Did Penalties Impact the Detroit Lions?
The Good
- The Lions offense accounted for 42% of the team's overall penalties. In raw numbers, they ranked 30th in offensive penalties per game average.
- The all-important false start and offensive holding combination accounted for just 28% of the team's overall penalties, 10% lower than league average in this category.
- The Lions ranked 31st in pre-snap penalties per game.
- The Lions special teams were excellent from a penalty perspective, ranking as a bottom-three penalized unit.
- The Lions defense was a top-three unit at generating offensive holds on opposing offenses.
The Bad
- The Lions defense accounted for 52% of the team's overall penalties, significantly higher than the league average of 34.5% in this category. In raw numbers, only the Jets defense averaged a higher per-game penalty average in 2024.
- The Lions were co-ranked number one for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. This penalty category looms large heading into 2025, with the league leaning towards making it a point of emphasis.
Grade: A-
There may be growing pains for the Lions, at least early in the season, after the departure of coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.
The Lions' ability to avoid pre-snap penalties allowed them to play ahead of the chains at an extremely high rate, and it was a key element of their success on the offensive side of the ball.
Regression for Detroit is certain, with 11 wins more likely than last season's 15-win campaign.
However, success for the Lions will be measured by playoff wins and taking care of unfinished business that was derailed by excessive defensive injuries last season.
This remains one of the NFL’s best rosters, and the goal remains the same as it did prior to 2024 for Detroit, its Super Bowl or bust for Dan Campbell’s team in 2025.
This analysis continues in the 2025 Football Preview
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Warren Sharp's book shares insights into the players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal: to prepare you for the 2025 NFL season with the smartest information delivered in the fastest, most direct way possible for optimal reviewing and retention.
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