The Detroit Lions have already snagged a replacement for star defender Carlton Davis, who they're losing to the Patriots.
The Detroit Lions have some ideas for new NFL rules next season — including one that is drawing some scrutiny as it might give the Lions an edge against their division rivals.
The league considers tweaks to the rules during offseason owners meetings, which take place at the end of March in West Palm Beach, Florida. As ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported, the Lions submitted a pair of new rules including one that would significantly alter defensive penalties.
One analyst believes it may be a bit of a self-serving proposal for the Lions, a team that struggled with discipline as it adopted an aggressive approach on defense.
Lions Want New Holding Rules
As Seifert reported, the Lions submitted a proposal that would eliminate automatic first downs for illegal contact or holding penalties on the defense.
As NFL analyst Warren Sharp pointed out, no team would benefit from the rule more than the Lions. The team has taken on an aggressive identity under head coach Dan Campbell, playing a physical style of man defense and encouraging defensive backs to challenge wide receivers.
“[S]o the Lions want to get rid of auto first downs for defensive holding & illegal contact penalties,” Sharp wrote in a post on X. “I wonder why that is? it’s because the Lions commit, by far, the most of these penalties in the NFL ”
Sharp noted that the rule change could be especially advantageous to the Lions against their division rivals, with the Lions committing 26 holding penalties over the last two years compared to 16 for the Green Bay Packers, nine for the Chicago Bears and six for the Minnesota Vikings.
“[Detroit’s] high rates of man coverage lead to more of these being called,” Sharp noted.
Lions Want NFL to Consider Another Change
That was not the only rule change proposed by the Lions. The team also suggested the NFL take a page out of the NBA’s book and award home-field advantage to teams with the better record in the playoffs rather than those that won divisions.
Seifert noted that this rule could also benefit the Lions as they play in one of the league’s most competitive divisions.
“That approach could have a significant effect on the Lions and the highly competitive NFC North, which fielded three playoff teams last season — the Lions (15-2), Minnesota Vikings (14-3) and Green Bay Packers (11-6),” he wrote. “The Lions received the NFC’s No. 1 seed, but the Vikings were seeded No. 5, and the Packers were No. 7. Based purely on records, the Vikings would have been the No. 3 seed, and the Packers would have been No. 5.”
That rule change would have played a big role in the playoffs last season as the Lions were not able to wrap up their division title until the final week of the season. The Lions and Vikings met in the season finale with 14 wins apiece, with the Lions winning the game to earn the No. 1 overall seed and the Vikings being forced to go on the road as the league’s first 14-win wild-card team.
The Vikings had to go one the road, losing to the Los Angeles Rams. The Lions earned a bye week but lost the following week, falling to the Washington Commanders.
