Detroit Lions Seeking More Success After Mini-Bye

Detroit Lions have not had recent success after extended time off.

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58) walks off the field after 44-30 win over Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have struggled recently with extended time off.

Dan Campbell's squad had an entire offseason to prepare for the Green Bay Packers to open the 2025 NFL regular season, but the performance at Lambeau Field was less than stellar.

After defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-9, at Ford Field, Detroit headed into their bye week riding high.

Unfortunately, the team did not come out of their bye week playing their best brand of football.

Detroit was on the losing end of a 27-24 home contest against the Minnesota Vikings. At the time, it was the best performance of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy's career.

The young signal-caller had struggled to stay in the lineup and did not exactly light up the league after beating Detroit.

After defeating the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions had a couple of days off, assisting the coaching staff and roster catch up on some rest.

The past couple of seasons, Detroit has had short rest to play on Thanksgiving, only to follow it up with a game the following Thursday evening, instead of additional time off.

Detroit's fifth-year head coach was asked this week about the team losing after the bye week and how he ensures the team is prepared this week, especially coming off a mini-bye.

“Well that’s a downer. Thank you for that. Geez," said Campbell. "Wow, I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out. I mean listen, that’s a hard stretch we just came from. Just like Dallas came off that stretch, too. We had to do that last year, that’s difficult. It’s not easy on the players, it’s not easy on the coaches, but it’s what’s on the schedule. You do it and you find a way to win, and we did that, but you need a breather. These guys needed that.

So, you get a couple of days off. Like I said the other day, catch your breath," Campbell explained further. "And now we get ready for these guys, get ready for the Rams. And we’ve got to put together a good gameplan which we’re trying to do right now, and these guys come in and we’ll be smart about how we work this week, too. We’ll get some work, but I also know what we just came from. So, we’ll get some work but we’re going to be smart. And there will be some mental reps in there, some walkthrough reps and then we’ll move a little bit. But want to make sure we’ve got plenty in the tank this week.”