The Detroit Lions came into the 2025 season with Super Bowl expectations. On Thursday, however, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
In 2023, the Lions made it to the NFC Championship and held a 24-7 lead before falling short to the San Francisco 49ers. The very next season, Detroit went 15-2 and made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. As you’d imagine, Lions head coach Dan Campbell is quite disappointed his team won’t be competing in the postseason.
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“I’m going to be looking at a lot. I’m going to be looking at a lot of things because I do not like being home for the playoffs,” Campbell said. “And I know our guys don’t either. And there again, whenever you lose, it takes a village. Everybody’s involved, including myself. So, I’m always going to look at myself first.”
So what went wrong for the Lions? For starters, they lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to head-coaching jobs last offseason.
Oddly enough, Detroit fans are blaming President Donald Trump for the team’s downfall this season.
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Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) celebrates a touchdown against Washington Commanders during the first half at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. on Sunday, November 9, 2025.© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Why are fans blaming the president?
Back on Nov. 9, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown did the “Trump Dance” after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Commanders. He eventually issued an apology for fans offended by his behavior.
“If I offended anyone, I do apologize,” St. Brown said on his podcast. “If any President was at that game, if they had a dance, I would have done it.”
Well, the Lions have gone 2-5 since that incident. Fans are calling it the “Trump curse” on social media.
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“The Detroit Lions have been cursed ever since Amon Ra St. Brown did that Trump dance,” one fan commented.
“Amon-Ra did that Trump dance and the lions season went to the toilet immediately afterwards,” a second fan wrote.
“Lions did the stupid Trump dance in Week 9 and just now got eliminated from playoff contention,” another fan said.
There are plenty of other fans blaming Trump for Detroit’s downfall. Obviously, that’s not the reason why the Lions came up short down the stretch.
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The Lions will have to retool their coaching staff if they want to get back to being an NFC contender.
As of now, the Lions own the No. 16 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.