Pistons playoff games motivated Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown

As the Pistons came within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals this spring, Little Caesars Arena got louder and louder. The fans roared each time three familiar faces were shown on the Jumbotron, sitting courtside at almost every home game: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams.

The electricity in the building reminded St. Brown of how it felt when the Lions hosted playoff games in 2023 and 2024, and served as a little extra incentive to get back there in 2026 after a disappointing season in 2025.

"Just watching those games, the energy is amazing in that arena. It does remind me of playoff football at Ford Field, having flashbacks to when we played the Rams and the Bucs. The energy in (our) stadium was something I’ve never seen before, so it’s definitely kind of nostalgic being in that arena. It’s a little different, obviously, than a football field, less people, but the Detroit fans are some of the best fans ever, so definitely looking forward to getting back to that."

The most recent playoff game at Ford Field ended in disaster, with the No. 1 seed Lions getting bounced by the Commanders after a 15-2 season in 2024. The Lions also had disappointing showings at home last season in costly losses to the Vikings, Packers and Steelers, the last of which all but ended their playoff hopes.

Their focus, now, is on 2026, and reestablishing themselves as the team that went 35-9 from the middle of 2022 through 2024.

"Last year is behind us now," said St. Brown, "and I think we’re all happy for that because last year was not the year that any of us wanted and expected. Going into this year we’re doing everything we can to get back to what we are and what we were, and I think everyone is just excited and motivated."

And what, exactly, are the Lions trying to get back to? "Winning football games," St. Brown said with a smile. "That’s the biggest thing, but there's so many little things that go into it."

"You can become numb to losing as you can winning. I feel like we won so many games these past three years that you feel like you can just keep getting by with what we were doing, and the target only gets bigger on your back as you keep winning games," he said. "Teams know you’re a good team, they want to beat you, they want to come to Ford Field and beat you -- and that’s not changing. Teams still know who we are and what we can do. And for us, we’re motivated.

"We know what we gotta do to get back, and I think we got the right guys to do it."