Amon-Ra St. Brown Got Real After Lions’ Playoff Hopes Came to a Close: ‘It Sucks’

The Lions were eliminated from playoff contention after a disappointing loss to the Vikings.

Amon-Ra St. Brown spoke to reporters after the Lions’ elimination had time to settle / Screengrab via @DetroitPodcast on X/Twitter

The Lions’ slim playoff hopes officially closed after a disappointing 23-10 loss to the Vikings on Christmas Day. Detroit fell to 8-8 and will close its season against the Bears on Sunday where all that’s at stake for the Lions is draft positioning.

Coach Dan Campbell and his team will miss the postseason for the first time since 2022 after a forgettable season following a 15-2 finish and the NFC’s No. 1 seed just a year ago. With some time for the Lions to digest the discouraging year, star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown provided an honest assessment of Detroit’s year, culminating in a fairly meaningless game in Week 18.

“It sucks man,” St. Brown said Thursday. “... We put ourself into this, we can’t blame no one else but ourselves. For us, this is just another game, another game for us to go out there and play. But, playing football like this at the end of the year sucks, none of us want to be doing it. We want to get back to our winning ways and ways that we’ve done things here in the past few years, I think we’ll get back to that.

“We just got to finish this season strong. Finish on a high note, I think that’s the most important thing.”

Asked Amon-Ra St. Brown how this season has sat with him, with the ups and downs and now a losing streak pic.twitter.com/LOiMcwgDKR

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) January 1, 2026

St. Brown was named to the Pro Bowl for his fourth straight season as he’s hauled in 106 catches for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns. He does have 10 drops this season, however, which is tied for the most in the NFL with teammate Jameson Williams, plus Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy and Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. The 10 drops are the most in St. Brown’s five-year career, totaling 17 over his first four seasons.

Detroit’s offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left to become the Bears’ head coach over the offseason. Now, the Lions will finish their year against Johnson’s 11-5 squad that has already clinched the NFC North crown.

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