Lions aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they want to help themselves with rule proposal

On Wednesday, the NFL officially announced three formal rule changes proposed by various teams ahead of next season. One of them would eliminate awarding an automatic first down for defensive holding and illegal contact penalties.

The team that proposed that change? The Detroit Lions.

Ironically, Detroit is the single most offending franchise for defensive holding and illegal contact penalties since 2023, per NFL analyst Warren Sharp.

The Lions were called for either penalty a combined 26 times in the last two seasons; only three other franchises besides them were called on those more than 19 times in that span.

Lions try rule change process to get a leg up on NFC North rivals

It's no surprise that Detroit would try to change a rule that would benefit them the most. That's just a business decision. It's unclear exactly what technical reasoning the team put into its argument for altering the down status after penalty yardage is assessed, however.

But one thing is for certain: The change would even the playing field a little more for the Lions against their NFC North rivals. Compared to Detroit, the Green Bay Packers (16 times called), Chicago Bears (9 times) and Minnesota Vikings (6 times) have sound discipline on defense, per Sharp. Head coach Dan Campbell is known to favor more man-on-man coverage on defense, which, in turn, results in more of these penalties given the physical nature of the play call.

Detroit's approach does seem a bit extreme when you think about it. The simple solution would be to coach defenders better in not making unnecessary contact with offensive players. Now, that's easier said than done, but why go through all the trouble to remove one part of a penalty consequence for one specific kind of penalty?

But credit where credit is due. This is a creative way to get a competitive advantage over other teams, although it's something that likely wouldn't get passed unless 23 other teams see the same benefit Detroit does. For what it's worth, there are only four teams that have been called for defensive holding or illegal contact 10 or less times since 2023 (Washington, Chicago, Carolina and Minnesota).