What is it going to take? That is always going to be the big question for the Detroit Lions when it comes to winning a Super Bowl.

We know that their offense is pretty much good to go. They were a top-five unit in 2026, and that was despite having the wrong offensive coordinator and a young and beat-up offensive line.

The real concern has always been defense. What do they need to do on defense or make it happen? Well, let’s look at the defenses that win Super Bowls. In fact…

Let’s look at the last eight Super Bowl-winning defenses to see what the Lions’ defense needs to do in 2026

Note: If you’re on mobile, you can slide the table over to see all the info.

Team	Rushing yards allowed per game	Passing yards allowed per game	Points allowed per game	Pressures	Sacks	TTP	TTT	Run stuff rate
Seahawks	92	193.9	17.2	267	47	2.72	2.81	17.70%
Eagles	104.2	174.2	17.8	193	41	2.6	2.69	17.30%
Chiefs	113.2	176.6	17.3	239	57	2.76	2.78	14.80%
Chiefs	107.2	220.9	21.7	232	55	2.65	2.79	14.80%
Rams	103.2	241.7	21.9	240	50	2.66	2.57	17.80%
Bucs	80.6	246.6	22.2	259	48	2.57	2.64	20.10%
Chiefs	128.2	221.4	19.3	220	45	2.58	2.72	13%
Patriots	112.7	264.4	20.3	236	30	2.41	2.86	16.10%

Ok, that’s the last eight Super Bowl-winning defenses. What we’re going to do from here is add all of that up and show the averages. That’s going to tell us what the Lions need to do defensively in every category this season to win a Super Bowl. Here’s what it comes out to:

Stat	Lions 2026
Rushing yards allowed	105
Passing yards allowed	217.4
Points allowed per game	19.7
Pressures	236
Sacks	47
TTP	2.61
TTT	2.73
Run stuff rate	16.40%

That’s not too bad. It’s actually pretty doable, and the Lions have been circling around having a defense like this for a while. It’s just that when they’re good at one part of it, they’re bad at the other part. Let’s look at how the Lions’ defense looked in 2025 compared to these numbers they want to hit.

Stat	Lions 2026	Lions 2025
Rushing yards allowed	105	114.5
Passing yards allowed	217.4	217.4
Points allowed per game	19.7	24.3
Pressures	236	234
Sacks	47	49
TTP	2.61	2.86
TTT	2.73	2.92
Run stuff rate	16.40%	13.50%

Ok, you can see here that in terms of playing against the pass, the Lions nailed it in 2025. I know that goes against everything you want to think. But they had the pressures, the sacks, and the exact passing yards allowed needed. Which is crazy that it lined up like this.

You can see that they clearly struggled against the run, and that was the big problem. They allowed significantly more rushing yards than they needed to, and just flat out weren’t stuffing the run nearly as much as they needed to.

Now let’s add 2024 to the mix, and you’ll see that it flips the other way.

Stat	Lions 2026	Lions 2024
Rushing yards allowed	105	98.4
Passing yards allowed	217.4	244
Points allowed per game	19.7	20.1
Pressures	236	242
Sacks	47	37
TTP	2.61	2.8
TTT	2.73	2.96
Run stuff rate	16.40%	16%

The Lions were one of the top five teams against the run in 2024 and you can see it here. They’re below the rushing yards allowed line. I know you might look at the passing yards allowed and think that’s a lot, but it’s only because when you force a team to predominantly pass the ball against you because they can’t run it, it’s going to inflate the passing yards totals.

The problem is that the Lions had little to no pass rush. They had it in 2025, but couldn’t stop the run, but then were able to stop the run in 2024, but couldn’t rush the passer.

Beleive it or not, the 2023 Lions are probably the perfect example of what the Lions need to be. Even though most will tell you that the defense was bad. Take a look.

Stat	Lions 2026	Lions 2023
Rushing yards allowed	105	88.8
Passing yards allowed	217.4	247.4
Points allowed per game	19.7	23.2
Pressures	236	258
Sacks	47	41
TTP	2.61	2.72
TTT	2.73	2.97
Run stuff rate	16.40%	19%

You’d like to see just the Lions be just a hair better in the pass rush game, but look at those run-stuffing numbers. Again, the passing yards allowed numbers are pretty high, but it’s the same thing as before. If all a team can do is pass against you, it’s going to inflate the numbers. That doesn’t mean it’s always working. Still, you’d like to see that number get lower.

At the end of the day, the Lions don’t really seem to need to be the greatest defense that ever existed to get the job done. They just need to play a more even game and be more consistent. That can absolutely be done, provided everyone stays healthy.

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