The Detroit Lions have been one of the most dominant teams in the NFL over the past two seasons, but there are still some that believe they’re a fluke entering the 2025 campaign.
The Lions lost both coordinators with Ben Johnson becoming the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Aaron Glenn becoming the head coach for the New York Jets. With the Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers also making moves toward closing the gap, it feels like the Lions will have a difficult task repeating as three-time champions of the NFC North.
But just when it looked like the Lions would be vulnerable, they sent a message with Wednesday’s practice against the Detroit Lions.
That was the most lopsided joint practice I’ve ever seen. Lions dominated both sides.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) August 13, 2025
Lions Completely Dominate Dolphins in Joint Practice
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy commented on the Lions’ dominance on Wednesday calling it “the most lopsided joint practice I’ve ever seen.” Pouncy also said the Lions dominated on both sides of the ball and documented the carnage on his timeline.
It started with Pouncy claiming Amon-Ra St. Brown was “cooking” the Dolphins. While he later admitted he was watching the defense for most of Wednesday’s practice, he said every time he heard the home crowd cheer, St. Brown was celebrating another big play.
Grant Stuard also stood out one day after claiming Miami wasn’t ready for how the Lions practice and the Detroit defense held the Dolphins scoreless until the final play on a lengthy red zone drill. Pouncy noted that the drill also saw the Lions first-team defense shut out the Dolphins first-team offense in a 7-to-8 play stretch before Jameson Williams and Ifeatu Melifonwu ended the day with a fight.
We don’t know whether Williams or his former teammate came out on top after throwing hands, but Lions fans may need a cigarette regardless. While their practice style has been questionable due to a laundry list of injuries, it’s a style that clearly caught Miami off guard and had one of their most positive moments of training camp.
It’s an “all gas, no brakes” approach that has served Dan Campbell well. The Lions made the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and had a 15-2 record in 2024 before injuries played a big role in a divisional round loss to the Washington Commanders.
Even with the departures from last year’s team, this is still a team that should contend for a spot in the Super Bowl and Wednesday’s practice let the other contenders know that the Lions are not a team to be slept on.