NFL owners will meet at the end of March to discuss and vote on rule changes for the 2025 season. The competition committee, along with all 32 teams, submit their proposals before the meeting. The Detroit Lions, just like previous years, have taken an active role in proposing new rules for the league going forward.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Lions submitted three proposals. One of those included a change in seeding that would mean a wild card team with a better record would get the higher seed over a division winner. While that benefits other NFC North teams, another change proposed by the Lions benefits Detroit in a big way.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the Lions want to eliminate automatic first downs for illegal contact and defensive holding.
The #Lions submitted a proposal to eliminate automatic first downs for defensive holding and illegal contact. pic.twitter.com/ntNCNHMI6X
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 19, 2025
Lions Commit More Defensive Holding Penalties Than Any Team in the NFL
Warren Sharp revealed why that may be the case. According to him, the Lions committed more of these penalties than any other team in the league over the last two seasons. The Lions led the league with 11 defensive holding calls in 2024. Since 2023, the Lions had 26 defensive holding and illegal contact penalties called against them, three more than the second-highest team.
As Sharp pointed out, this is a direct result of the high rate of man coverage the Lions like to deploy. A rule change would almost certainly disproportionately benefit the Lions. Their NFC North rivals -Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota- ranked 15th, 30th, and 32nd in such penalties respectively.
These penalties are especially costly in third-and-long situations, no matter how small the infraction is. The Lions do have a point in the fact that a five-yard infraction resulting in an automatic first down in a third-and-15 situation doesn't seem fair. Whether the rest of the league agrees, however, remains to be seen.