What's next for the Lions after the Commanders crushed their dream season into dust?

In the end, losing more than half their starting defense was a wound from which the Detroit Lions could not recover.

The Lions had some of the league's worst injury luck, losing starters like Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Carlton Davis and Alex Anzalone in stretches throughout 2024. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around of their 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs, nearly 60 percent of their opening day two-deep was unavailable.

This created mistakes on both sides of the ball. Detroit took a spirit-crushing 12 men on the field penalty as Washington lined up for fourth-and-goal where a stop would have given the Lions all the momentum they needed in front of a raucous home crowd. This forced Jared Goff to try and level up his game playing from behind -- a gunslinging operation that led to a pick-six and an end zone interception that took points off the scoreboard for Detroit and padded the Commanders' lead. When Jameson Williams was asked to pick up the slack with a trick play, it went about as poorly as it could have.

The Lions couldn't generate pressure when they needed it most and Jayden Daniels had all the time he needed to thrive. It didn't matter how good Detroit's coverage was when Daniels was launching rainbows like this.

This leaves a devastated Detroit to pick up the pieces after having their Super Bowl dreams dashed for the second straight January. What happens now?

1. What do the Lions have to build around in 2025?

Here's the good news. The core that made 15 regular season wins possible? It's coming back after injuries marred the second half of Detroit's season.

Goff will return to the lineup with revenge on his mind. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta will buoy the passing game. David Montgomery will be a year older, but his platoon work with Jahmyr Gibbs should help keep him fresh as he enters his seventh year as a pro. Most importantly, everyone but Kevin Zeitler is slated to return along the offensive line, keeping one of the NFL's most bruising and versatile units intact.

Things are similarly rosy when it comes to the defense. Aidan Hutchinson will return from a broken leg. Alim McNeill, an underappreciated engine in the middle of the line, will make his own return after being lost for the season in Week 15. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph return as playmaking deterrents over the middle. Terrion Arnold and Amik Robertson can hold down the boundary corners and Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone and a healthy Malcolm Rodriguez will handle linebacker duties.

If these guys can stay healthy, the Lions could be even better in 2025. Whether they are or not may depend on their ability to hang on to (or effectively replace) coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Johnson, who commands the offense, is one of the hottest rising stars on the sideline. Glenn, architect of the defense, isn't far behind.

Saturday night’s loss leaves the Lions with the 28th pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. They won't have their third rounder after dealing it to the New York Jets last year for the chance to draft Giovanni Manu in the fourth round. Detroit will have an estimated $57.5 million in salary cap space for 2025, per Over the Cap — eighth-most in the NFL. That leaves plenty of room to add depth (and dole out contract extensions) for a team with minimal free agent losses on the horizon.

2. What players could leave the Lions in 2025?

The following players played at least 50 percent of Detroit's offensive or defensive snaps and will be free agents in 2025:

• RG Kevin Zeitler

• CB Carlton Davis

• DL Levi Onwuzurike

• WR Tim Patrick

Additionally, swing tackle Dan Skipper, edge rusher Marcus Davenport and cornerback Kindle Vildor are also pending free agents.

3. Offseason priority No. 1: Addressing the potential loss of their top assistant coaches

The Lions are home to arguably the top two rising coaching candidates of the 2025 cycle. Johnson turned Goff from a Los Angeles Rams castoff (whose onerous contract helped boost the price of trading Matthew Stafford out of Michigan) into an MVP candidate. He's been a high profile head coach candidate for the past two offseasons and may finally jump at the right opportunity -- potentially with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears and 2024 first overall draft pick Caleb Williams.

Glenn's season ended with a thud, but he remained the glue that held his defense together despite injuries spreading like pink eye in an unlicensed day care. Detroit's defense lost 75 percent of its defensive line and more than half its starting defense for long swaths of 2024. Despite this, the Lions ranked seventh in the NFL when it came to expected points added (EPA) allowed.

The safe assumption is Detroit will lose at least one, if not both of these guys (though it's possible each stays in hopes of washing the sour taste of Saturday's loss from their mouths).

If Johnson goes, passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand could step up. He's been with the team since 2020 and while he's never been an offensive coordinator in the NFL he did serve that role with the XFL's DC Defenders. There may also be room for former NFL quarterback Mark Brunell, currently the team's quarterbacks coach, to move up the ladder.

If Glenn departs, linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard -- who helped turn Anzalone into a glue guy and developed Jack Campbell from a toolsy off-ball linebacker into a versatile tackling machine -- may be the most likely replacement. He's been on staff since 2021 and is a trusted piece of Dan Campbell's puzzle. Outside hires could also play a role, but this feels like a situation in which Campbell would promote from within.

4. Offseason priority No. 2: A little bit of secondary help

Brian Branch is a stud. Kerby Joseph led the league in interceptions. Terrion Arnold's rookie season wasn't a smash hit, but he displayed the skills that made him a first round draft pick.

Those guys are locked in as young members of a solid secondary. They need help.

Carlton Davis is headed to free agency. Amik Robertson is solid but has only started more than seven games in an NFL season once in five years as a pro. The depth behind him at corner and safety is limited.

That leaves room (and spending money) to jump from good to great. Detroit could use a combination of veteran help and draft picks to buttress the secondary. Davis could return. Donte Jackson could arrive on a modest deal. The Lions could pluck Stephon Gilmore from the Minnesota Vikings roster. There are plenty of proven adults who could join the mix.

The draft could be a bit more dicey. Detroit is in position to take the best player available given its relative strength on both sides of the ball. If that's someone like Nick Emmanwori or Shavon Revel? Perfect. If not, there will be several more opportunities to boost a defense that needs all the depth it can find after getting devastated by injury in 2024.

5. Offseason priority No. 3: Buying enough sage to cleanse six decades worth of demons from Detroit's locker room

Everything felt right. The Lions won 15 games. They thoroughly pantsed the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 to earn their bye. The defense, injury riddled as it was, still found room to thrive. Goff put up MVP-caliber numbers and Detroit had a top three offense to go with its top seven defense.

Then, because these are the Lions, it all came crashing down. They didn't just lose a Divisional Round home game they were favored to win by nearly double digits. They lost by two touchdowns.

So much of Detroit's 2025 felt like the football gods making a statement about finding new ways to torture the franchise they've turned into a pinata for the last six decades. Injuries took star players out of the lineup. A coordinator who emerged as one of the league's best defensive gameplanners had no answer for a rookie quarterback. Goff forced shots downfield playing catchup and was punished for his efforts to play hero.

There are several reasons for this. Bad matchups. Overworked players. But much of it comes down to the genuinely awful luck that haunts this franchise at every turn.

Call a shaman. Buy all the sage in Michigan. Turn Ford Field into a week-long sweat lodge and let Dan Campbell wrestle the demons in a loser-leaves-town match. This was an incredibly Lions way to end what had been a thoroughly un-Lions season, and whatever fates are in control of this must be stopped.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: What's next for the Lions after the Commanders crushed their dream season into dust?