The Story of the 2015 Detroit Lions

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After going 11-5 and making the playoffs in 2014, the Detroit Lions headed into the 2015 NFL season with high hopes as well as high expectations. Unfortunately for the Lions, the first half of their season was filled with poor play on both sides of the ball, along with some tough calls that did not go in their favor. All of which caused Detroit to go 1-7 through their first eight games. Ultimately, the Lions would play significantly better in the second half of the season, going 6-2 and finishing the 2015 season with a 7-9 record.

Not only did the Lions miss the playoffs in 2015, but their star wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, called it a career by announcing his retirement following the season. Johnson, also known around the league as "Megatron," finishes his career with 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. The future Hall of Famer will be severely missed by the Detroit Lions and their fans.

The Lions would start the 2015 season by losing their first five games before beating the Chicago Bears in week six for their first win. After another loss in week seven, however, Detroit fired their offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replaced him with Jim Bob Cooter.

Cooter's debut though was met with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but it was on a short week and he had yet to implement any of his own schemes. The Lions would go on a three game winning streak following their loss to the Chiefs, one of which ended a 24-game losing streak at Lambeau Field to the Green Bay Packers. The Lions had an opportunity to make it four games in a row with a possible sweep against the Packers, but a tough call by the refs ultimately led to a Packers victory. After the loss to Green Bay, the Lions would lose to the St. Louis Rams, but would go on to finish the season by winning their last three games.

The Detroit Lions have had a lot of changes take place to their front office during the season and after. General manager Martin Mayhew, who was fired mid-season, was replaced by Bob Quinn, who was the New England Patriots former Director of Pro Scouting. The Lions also fired team president Tom Lewand mid-season and replaced him with Rob Wood.

As far as the Detroit Lions are concerned, it all begins and ends with quarterback Matt Stafford. The Pro Bowl quarterback got off to a rocky start, but once Cooter took over as offensive coordinator, Stafford would reduce the number of interceptions and increase his touchdown totals. Stafford would finish the season with over 4,000 yards passing to go along with 32 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions.