Lions must fix one thing in 2026 or the season could unravel

The Detroit Lions and quarterback Jared Goff have a big 2026 up ahead. The Lions are strong, and between Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, the team's offense is packed with elite talent. But, raw talent isn't enough.

The Lions need to get their offensive situation together in 2026. They just weren't the same team last season that they were when Ben Johnson was offensive coordinator during the 2024 season.

There's no need to panic, though. Head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes get that their window is closing if they don't do something now.

The Lions hired new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing during the offseason. They also made some changes on offense. But, it could go either way.

Dan Campbell and Lions need to fix one thing in the 2026 season

In a feature published on Monday for Bleacher Report, Kristopher Knox lays out the worst-case scenario for the Lions, and it's that the "O-line shuffling leads to issues."

"The Lions probably have too much talent to be merely average offensively, but they'll need dependable offensive line play to be great," he writes in the piece. "They didn't always have that in 2025, which led to Jared Goff taking a career-high 38 sacks."

He points out some notable changes, such as left tackle Taylor Decker leaving and moving Penei Sewell from right to left tackle. Also, the Lions lost running back David Montgomery.

These are all big questions for the team going forward. But, the good news is that the team inked center Cade Mays and drafted tackle Blake Miller to help with their evolution. So, the offense could either come back, refreshed and new, or it could turn out to be an experiment that goes wrong.