Lions defensive back Brian Branch played nearly a full season in 2024 and made his first Pro Bowl, staying mostly healthy throughout the team's quest for its first Super Bowl.
His experience, missing just one game while unscathed by serious injury, unfortunately felt like a rarity in Detroit -- especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Lions star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson fractured his fibula and tibia in Week 6. Before that, Detroit lost pass rusher Marcus Davenport and linebacker Derrick Barnes to season-ending injuries. Afterward, Alex Anzalone missed time with a broken arm, his fellow LB Malcolm Rodriguez tore his ACL -- as did defensive tackle Alim McNeill -- and cornerback Carlton Davis went down with a broken jaw.
But Detroit's band of walking wounded still persevered to finish with the NFC's No. 1 seed, and although the Lions fell short of the ultimate goal, Branch believes they've come out on the other side forged by experience.
"We went through the ups and downs," Branch told Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press. "We fought together in tough games. We have been in a game where it depended on us to win. So, it just makes everybody buy in. Once you have a group that has bought in and has gone through trials and tribulations, we feel invincible."
With many of the team's key on-field contributors returning, plus the build up of the past couple years, Branch envisions a 2025 Lions squad that can be even better than before.
"I feel like we're better than last year," he said. "We're hungry, and I feel that's gonna separate us. Our chemistry is on a whole 'nother level."
That's a check more easily written than cashed, especially considering how successful Detroit has been during its recent run. The Lions won 12 games during the 2023 campaign, at the time tied for their most victories in a season. They fought hard in the playoffs, reaching their first NFC Championship Game since 1991 and coming up one game shy of a Super Bowl berth. Despite all the injury troubles, they tore the league apart last season, besting their previous win total by three to finish 15-2 with the top-ranked scoring offense and a seventh-ranked scoring defense. Injuries finally became too much, leading to a surprising Divisional Round exit against the Commanders.
In the time since, the Lions have lost both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head-coaching jobs. Center Frank Ragnow announced a surprise retirement, and a few players, such as the aforementioned Davis, departed in free agency.
Detroit added pieces, too, though. Depth in the secondary has been replenished with the signings of D.J. Reed, Avonte Maddox and Rock Ya-Sin. First-round pick, DT Tyleik Williams, should further bolster the trenches where the Lions often reign supreme, and if 2025 second-round offensive lineman Tate Ratledge follows in the footsteps of recent Lions linemen, he could be a quick contributor to at least soften the blow of Ragnow stepping away from football.
Most importantly, the Lions will have a mostly clean slate with injuries, barring those recovering from ACL tears, such as McNeill and Rodriguez.
It'll be a tall task to top or match 15 regular-season wins, but Detroit is good enough that they're now eyeing postseason victories as the true marker of success.
As long as they experience better injury luck, Branch believes 2025 could finally be the time for the Lions, boosted from chemistry created through seasons gone by.
"Last year, injuries, they were kind of against us," Branch said. "This year, everybody's healthy that is coming back. And we're just hungry. We've still got the same mission and the same goals. We're trying to get that Super Bowl."
