The Detroit Lions wrapped up their first preseason game of 2025 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and there’s plenty to talk about. From breakout performances to some rough nights, here are the winners and losers for Detroit coming out of Thursday’s game.

Winners

Ahmed Hassanein, defensive end

What a game for Ahmed Hassanein. I’ve been watching him at training camp this summer, and he’s been showing up more and more. It’s a big difference from last year, when he was clearly a guy who plays with his hair on fire but maybe needed to get some things under control. I still think there’s a little bit of that, and I think Dan Campbell mentioned it earlier this week as well. But he has gotten most of it under control and has moved over to that big end spot and just looks great.

In this game, Hassanein started it off with a sack on Joe Burrow, which is huge, then added another sack later that also forced a fumble. The Bengals recovered, but a sack-fumble is a sack-fumble. He also had a fumble recovery that didn’t wind up counting because the Lions challenged it and the play was upheld. On top of that, he had a couple of pressures and some tackles. He’s not going to start. This is still DJ Wonnum and Derrick Moore’s game. But you’re going to see a lot more of Hassanein than we maybe expected coming into training camp.

Jacob Saylors, running back

Earlier on Thursday, I wrote an article about 8 players who needed to have a big game against the Bengals, and Saylors was on that list. The idea was simple: with Isaiah Pacheco out and Sione Vaki out, Saylors had an opportunity to nail down the running back 3 spot because he was going to get a ton of reps.

Coming out of this game, I don’t see how Vaki can win it back. Vaki has dealt with injuries over the last two years, and even when he does get reps, we haven’t seen anything that really blows you away. Saylors came out and put up 8 carries for 55 yards with a big 27-yard run, then added 23 receiving yards as well. If he had played the whole game, he probably would have gone over 100 yards rushing. At practice, when the Lions run kick return drills, you see Greg Dortch back there as the main returner with Saylors right next to him. Detroit clearly plans to have Saylors on this team, and the job he did Thursday night may have threatened Vaki’s roster spot.

Skyler Gill-Howard, defensive tackle

You saw this guy everywhere Thursday night. Pressure after pressure after pressure. He never really got home for a sack, but he made a really big play in the fourth quarter on a Josh Johnson scramble, showing his closing speed and forcing a punt. I think Gil-Howard is going to be a big deal at some point. I don’t know if it’s 2026 or 2027, but the athleticism is there. The pass-rush juice is there. I saw it on tape at Northern Illinois, and I hadn’t really seen it as much at Texas Tech because he didn’t get a whole lot of chances to play there. But he showed it Thursday night.

Losers

Isaac TeSlaa, wide receiver

This was a bad showing. There’s really no other way to put it. And it goes on top of what has been a bad summer at training camp. At OTAs and mandatory minicamp, it felt like TeSlaa was going to take a next step forward. The coaching staff felt the same way. Then this summer, he’s had trouble creating separation and hasn’t made a whole lot of plays.

It was pretty clear the Lions’ idea for this game was to target TeSlaa early and often, get him some reps and some confidence. His first target went right through his hands, bounced off his helmet, and turned into an interception. He had two other targets, one of which was a nice catch, and then he dropped the other. It was a bad night on top of a bad few weeks. I’m not saying TeSlaa is in any danger of losing his roster spot, because he’s not. But he might be in danger of losing his spot on the depth chart. Greg Dortch, who didn’t play in this game, is showing a lot more this summer in multiple categories on offense and special teams. TeSlaa has got to get it together.

Ennis Rakestraw, cornerback

This one is heartbreaking. His first two seasons were riddled with injuries. In this game, he came out and was really showing some stuff with a nice pass breakup early on. Then he went low on a tackle and was walked off with a trainer. I don’t know what the injury is, and I’m not going to speculate on it. The Lions will tell us, and we’ll know then. But it looked bad.

It’s been so up and down for Rakestraw this summer. I’ve been working on a 53-man roster prediction, and I had him on the practice squad because when I look at Khalil Dorsey, I can’t find a way to put Rakestraw over him at this point. It’s another rough chapter for the 2024 draft class. Luckily, the injury was not a serious one. Still, it’s an issue for him.

Miles Frazier, offensive lineman

Frazier has been fighting for the starting left guard spot this summer, and he came out and picked up 3 holding penalties in this game. The third one wiped out a beautiful 20-yard screen that converted a third-and-19 for Tom Kennedy. You can’t win a starting offensive line job if you’re getting called for holding 3 times in a preseason game. I’m not saying Frazier is in danger of losing his spot on this team, because I think they clearly see something in him and he’s looked pretty good this summer. But I said in a video on Monday that I think Mahogany has won this job already, and Thursday night was just another thing that points in that direction.

Dominic Lovett, wide receiver

The Lions keep giving Lovett chances. They want this kid to succeed. I thought it was rough in the draft when they selected Kendrick Law, who is essentially Dominic Lovett. Lovett got a little lucky in the sense that Law got hurt, because I think Law would probably have the wide receiver 5 job in the bag by now if he were healthy.

Lovett got targeted 4 times Thursday and dropped 3 of those passes. He had the same problem last summer in the preseason. He gets open, and there’s no disputing that. But he has trouble bringing the ball in. I don’t think the Lions are going to cut ties entirely. I just feel like at this point he might be a practice squad guy while he works on the drops, and then Detroit tries again in 2027.

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