It’s been quite some time since we checked in with Detroit Lions fans regarding their opinion of general manager Brad Holmes. The last time we polled our audience was almost exactly a year ago, following the team’s 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, those poll results were lost to time (and a migration to a new content management system at SB Nation).
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Studs and Duds: Lions’ Stars Deliver Strong Effort
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions suited up for the final time during the 2025 NFL season. It was a much shorter season than Lions fans expected, while Ben Johnson and the upstart Chicago Bears had already secured the NFC North divisional crown and were looking to capture the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
In what looked like a microcosm of Detroit’s season, the Lions surged early, before struggling in the final half. However, on this occasion, the Lions were able to finish, forcing a Chicago punt before Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jake Bates iced it.
With nothing but pride to play for, here are the studs and duds from the Lions’ final contest of the ‘25 campaign.
STUD: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Amon-Ra St. Brown did not have much to play for, with the receiver suffering multiple injuries as the season wound down. However, he was a shining example of leading the Lions, with the star surpassing 100 yards, with his longest catch of the evening going for 30 yards.
The USC product was the go-to guy on third down, with the receiver besting former Lions defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson multiple times in coverage.
St. Brown also called ballgame, with a huge catch and run after a Gardner-Johnson injury forced a Chicago timeout. The pass-catcher’s 11th reception of the game gave him 139 yards, with that final one setting Jake Bates up for a game-winning field goal.
DUD: IOL Christian Mahogany
Yet again, Mahogany suffered through growing pains as he worked his way back into the lineup for the Lions. The aggressive Chicago Bears front got the best of the second-year player, with the guard surrendering a sack early in the game after being completely blown off the line of scrimmage.
Mahogany was also responsible for a few missed blocks in the run game when Detroit stalled in the third quarter. Every time Goff dropped back, there seemed to be a Bears defender ready to drop him for a loss. Mahogany, along with all the other Lions linemen, appeared ready for the offseason at multiple times on Sunday.
STUD: WR Kalif Raymond
In what might be his last game in Honolulu Blue, Kalif Raymond shined. The returner and receiver was able to flip the field with his catches, along with setting Detroit up with good field position on its final drive.
Raymond came alive in the second half, when most of Detroit seemed content to settle after going up by two scores. Raymond pushed the ball up for Detroit, and was one of the shining examples of players competing for pride.
DUD: OT Chris Hubbard
Hubbard was the replacement for Penei Sewell, who was missing his first career game. Unfortunately, Sewell’s presence was sorely missed. Hubbard was the right tackle on a line that let Jared Goff run for his life, particularly in the first and third quarters.
Hubbard was responsible for part of a sack on Goff, where the quarterback got met by Montez Sweat and Grady Jarrett. Overall, the line surrendered two sacks to Chicago, along with quite a few pressures.
STUD: K Jake Bates
Bates kept Detroit in contention on Sunday, nailing four of his five field goals, including the walk-off winner as time expired. With his lone miss being a 53-yard field goal to end the first half, it is easy to overlook that when the Lions kicker accounted for all the points besides Jahmyr Gibbs’ final touchdown of the season.
Bates, despite the fans turning against him at points, showed resilience and consistency on a night when the Lions sorely needed it.
DUD: OG Tate Ratledge
Ratledge was another Lions lineman who struggled in the final contest of the year. Detroit finally had a push against the Bears’ front, but Ratledge was part of a unit that allowed multiple Goff pressures. Additionally, he added a penalty in the middle of the game to hamper Detroit’s field position, getting busted for a hold.
Ratledge offered promise in his first season, and there is reason to believe in him for next year. This year, however, it was “baptism by fire” in multiple games: Sunday included.
STUD: LB Jack Campbell
Campbell was another one of the Lions stars who played for pride, leading Detroit’s defense by example. To the surprise of none, he led the Lions in tackles, and set the tone by nearly intercepting Caleb Williams as Detroit shut out Chicago in the first half.
Campbell made plays and shifted momentum just enough in the first half for Chicago’s second-half rally to come up short.
STUD: DB Avonte Maddox
Maddox filled in admirably with Detroit down three of its top four safeties on Sunday, and added his own Kerby Joseph-esque centerfield interception, picking off Caleb Williams on a deep shot to the end zone. Maddox bodied out the receiver, then had enough awareness to run the ball out of the end zone, instead of trying to tiptoe up the sideline.
Without this crucial takeaway, it is likely that Detroit either goes to overtime or outright loses to the Bears and falls to 1-5 in the division. Maddox played for pride, and certainly gave the staff much to think about with the offseason looming.
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4Warn Weather – SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy skies. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. A few storms could be strong with gusty winds and hail. High: 71.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, becoming partly cloudy skies late. Low: 45.
SUNDAY (MOTHER’S DAY): Mix of sunshine and clouds, cooler temperatures. High: 61.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Another chilly night. Low: 41.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies, remaining chilly. High: 58.
After a beautiful end to the week on Friday with sunshine and a little cloud cover, with warmer temperatures moving into the region as well, some of us are waking up to some patchy dense fog on Saturday morning. Some places south of M-59 are seeing reduced visibilities down to around a mile. If you do run into some patchy dense fog, be sure to use your low beams.
That warming trend continues into the start of the weekend on Saturday, but it also brings a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Another cold front will work through the region by Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening and that will bring our thunderstorm chance. High temperature is warming into low 70s by Saturday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of the region under a Marginal Risk (1 out of 5) on our severe weather scale for the start of the weekend. Gusty winds and hail are the primary threats as we work through the start of the weekend, but this will not be a widespread threat for severe thunderstorms.
Behind that cold front for the end of the weekend on Sunday, we will keep a mixture of sunshine and clouds into the forecast. High temperatures running about 10 to 15° cooler to end the weekend. Expect high to warm into the upper 50s to lower 60s by Sunday afternoon.
Drier weather sticks around for the start of next week, before another chance of rain moves into the region by the time we get to Tuesday. The cooler-than-average temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. Expect high temperatures to remain in the 50s for Monday and Tuesday.
Temperature start to warm up by the middle of next week, and Drier weather moves back in by Wednesday behind another cold front moving into the region. Expect high temperatures into the lower 60s on Wednesday to warm into the upper 60s by the time we get to Thursday. Above average temperatures move back into the region as we look ahead into the end of the week, expect high temperatures back into the lower 70s by the time we get to Friday.
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But as you can see below, Holmes has been an extremely popular figure among Detroit sports fans for pretty much his entire career.
Although, if there was a time when Holmes’ popularity took a hit, it was likely during the 2025 NFL season, when the Lions took their first clear step back since he and Dan Campbell came to town.
Since last year’s data was lost to time, this is a good opportunity to check back in with Lions fans. While Holmes certainly deserves a ton of credit for getting the Lions back to relevancy and helping them produce four consecutive seasons with winning records, there are some serious blemishes on his resumé now. The 2024 NFL Draft class has not lived up to his high standards through two seasons, some of his riskiest picks over the last few years have all failed to pay off, and last year’s roster just wasn’t good enough to withstand the injuries.
But Holmes is also coming off a very crowd-pleasing draft. Detroit addressed their two biggest needs with their first two selections, and there were no crazy head-scratching picks or expensive trade ups. Many have categorized his latest draft as “back to business as usual,” which could have some fans he lost back on his side.
However, that is all up to you. Vote on your thoughts about Holmes’ time in Detroit below, and share your extended thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
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