Lions have ‘more meat on the bone’ for 2026
Mike Florio and Michael Holley sift through NFC teams aiming for more in 2026, including the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams.
Video Transcript
Give me an NFC team that in your opinion needs to nut up or shut up in 2026.
The Detroit Lions.
We always reference that quote from Dan Campbell after they blew the game in San Francisco, had a big lead, blew it.
Dan Campbell distraught after the game says, "This might have been our only shot."
Well, you better hope it wasn't your only shot.
they've drafted very well, Mike.
they have brought competitiveness and hope, back to the Lions and to the city of Detroit when it comes to the football team.
But they didn't make the playoffs last year, the year before.
How about the year before?
You have this great record, you win the NFC North, and then you lose at home to the Commanders in the divisional round.
So you feel like there's more meat on the bone in Detroit, and can they get it?
Can they, can they maximize the talent on the roster and get to the Super Bowl?
That's a great one, and that's my first choice.
Second choice, although I know that history tells us they will neither shut up nor nut up, the Dallas Cowboys.
All, all def- all defense, defense, defense.
Making the defense better.
Offense is great, and we've been waiting and waiting and waiting 30 years now and counting since they've last made it to the NFC Championship.
But I It doesn't really fit because I they're never gonna shut up and they're never gonna nut up.
They're always gonna be on the fringe of the conversation.
I just think something's missing there that is going to carry them over the top.
I could be wrong.
NFC has a lot of great teams.
It's not gonna be easy for the Cowboys to get to the top of the mountain, but they, they, they're They find a way every year to get people thinking that last year is not gonna carry over into this year and, if anything, we're gonna be a lot better than we've been.
the Rams kind of fall into that category a little bit too for different reasons.
I mean- we're, we're basically ready to hand them the trophy, especially if Aaron Donald comes back.
So anything short of winning the Super Bowl is gonna be a disappointment in LA, especially if Donald ends up coming back.
Yeah, and, and the fact that the Super Bowl is there.
They got another Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
It's the last time they won it, so it's getting to the Super Bowl for the home team won't be enough.
You know what it was like there.
I actually, I actually thought, and I, I was wrong, but I actually thought when I saw them, beat the, the Bengals for the Super Bowl and I, I felt the excitement in Los Angeles that night, it was a great night.
So I'm, "Oh, this is gonna turn around.
This is gonna make football This is gonna bring back the football buzz to Los Angeles."
Not really.
It really didn't.
So maybe winning two Super Bowls in, in, in five years will get Los Angeles, you know, just over the top excited about football.
For football teams in Los Angeles, not the other team, but for teams who play their home games at SoFi.
