Four teams redesigned their uniforms for the 2024 season: New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos. This short series will review all the uniforms worn by those four teams.
When the Detroit Lions finally unveiled their long-awaited uniform redesign in April of last year, I wasn’t alone in having high hopes for the sartorial machinations which lay ahead for this past season.
Paul’s first paragraph of his assessment was equally hopeful:
The Lions unveiled their new uniform set last night, confirming the leaks from earlier in the day. Is it a perfect set? No. But is it a big upgrade? Definitely.
The most pleasant surprise for the Lions new unis was the new shade of Honolulu blue for 2024.
Here you go! pic.twitter.com/fyHqT84YJZ
— Christian S (@Sanchlinz) April 19, 2024
The classic helmet was also refreshed, adding a new “Mustang stripe” style to the helmet, and that pattern was repeated on the new blue, black and white jerseys. The team’s classic silver/gray pants, shown paired with the new blue jersey, also carried the new Mustang stripe pattern, and made for a fantastic new home look.
So far, so good.
Unfortunately, that’s were things started to go awry. In showing off the new white jersey, the team showed those paired with a set of stripeless blue pants and white socks (still a pretty good look), and also with white stripeless pants and socks. At the time, Paul remarked, “Although the Lions didn’t provide any pics of the white jersey being paired with the silver/grey pants, that will probably happen at some point.”
We know how that turned out. The Lions never wore the new silver pants with the white jersey.
The Lions also introduced a new alternate blue helmet, which they would pair with a new black jersey. Two options were shown: one with stripeless black pants and socks, and one with the stripless blue pants and black socks. While I wasn’t a fan of the blue over all-black, I was very intrigued by the possibility of the Lions going blue/black/blue/black (for one game, anyway).
As we’d quickly learn, the team would never wear the black jersey with the blue pants this past season.
Finally, the team noted they would still have their 1957 throwback uniform, which most of us hoped would be worn on Thanksgiving (or at least once during the 2024 season). Yeah, that didn’t happen either, despite the throwback being a part of their new uniform lineup.
And as we’d learn throughout the season, the Lions are a very uni-superstitious team. This would affect their uniform choices throughout the year.
Things actually started out well for the pre-season. For their first two pre-season games, the Lions wore their silver/white/blue/white combo. Other than the stripeless pants, it is a solid look.
For their third and final pre-season game, the Lions broke out their “classic” silver/blue/silver-gray/blue combination. It’s a fantastic look and one that I noted at the time was almost perfect.
All that would change once the regular season began.
Detroit had plenty of success in their old uniform set wearing all-blue, and as it turned out, the team wouldn’t lose while wearing the blueberries for the entire 2024 season, and hoped to ride that streak as the Number One seed in the NFC all the way to the Super Bowl.
But the team won opening night in the blueberries, and they’d wear this as their home look an additional four times during the season. They also went Monolulu blue for their first — and only — playoff game, losing in them for the first time all season.
Grade: C-
Little did we know at the time this would be the only game in which the Lions would wear this combination.
Grade: A-
Like the blue and black pants, the Lions’ white pants are stripeless. When paired with the same color jersey and socks, the (almost) all-white look was not just extremely plain, it furthered one of the NFL’s more annoying trends: wearing all-white below the neck. While most all-white uniforms aren’t great, the Lions’ all-white with stripeless pants and same color hosiery is terrible. The white yoga pants look (one also favored by the Saints and Commanders) is possibly the worst overall look in the league.
But the Lions would win wearing the silver helmets over mono-white. As we’d soon learn, once the team won in a certain combination, they’d keep wearing it. And in this regard, the Lions were perfect: they would wear this combo eight times in 2024 — all on the road — and went undefeated while wearing it. *Insert Crash Davis quote about streaks here.* While I detest the look, I can’t argue with the results.
Grade: F
The team would notch their third win of the season wearing this combo.
Grade: D-
The team was having none of it.
After Week 4, the team would not break out a single new combo for the entirety of the season. They ended up never wearing the classic throwback look, nor the silver pants with white shirts, and not even the black jersey/blue pants I had been dying to see (at least once). The team continued riding winning streaks — sticking with either the blueberries, all-white, or blue over all-black. This worked out fine until the team headed into Week 15. Their record stood at 12-1, with their sole loss coming in the blue over silver-gray. The Lions rolled out the blue/black/black/black in a huge game against the Bills, and ended up losing their second game of the season.
Being the Lions were a uni-superstitious team, I figured they’d eschew wearing the all-black look a third time, since it provided one of their two losses. With only one alternate wearing remaining, I anticipated that they would wear either their throwbacks or the black/blue combo, since they hadn’t lost wearing either. But in a surprise move (at least to me), the team rolled the dice and wore the all-black alternate in Week 18 against the Vikings, with a win basically securing the No. 1 seed for the upcoming playoffs. They won, finishing the season with a 15-2 record. It was the only time in which the Lions repeated a combo in which they had previously lost.
When the Lions hosted their first playoff game two weeks later against the Commanders, they rolled out the blueberries again. With the NFC as “home” team for the Super Bowl, the Lions fully expected to complete their undefeated season in Monolulu, but the upstart Commanders had other ideas. They’d upset the Lions in all-blue, giving them their sole loss in that combo for the 2024 season.
It was a disappointing end to the season for the 15-2 (and No. 1 seed) Lions. Whether or not that big loss will change the team’s uni philosophy going forward remains to be seen. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the blueberries, but I am hopeful the Lions will wear the blue jersey/silver-gray pants combo more than one game next year. I’d love to see the silver-gray pants with the white jerseys, and I’d really like to see the blue/black/blue/black alternate look.
What started out so promising, uni-wise, ended up being rather disappointing — pretty much like the Lions season. With the ability to pretty much wear a different combination almost every week, the Lions wore a grand total of four different uni combos. Let’s hope there are some changes for next season. When they wear their classic look, the Lions look great. But the alternate combos (especially the insistence on going mono-below-the-neck for all but ONE game) the team wore this year were decidedly less good.
Your thoughts?
The Lions should wear those striped silver britches in every game. Period. Full stop.
+1
+2
Amen. Ditch the white blue and black.
Totally agree!
+3
I agree with Graf
what’s sad is their stripeless pants are worse than the ravens stripeless pants.. at least the Ravens have a logo on theirs
I would love to understand what Nike’s aversion to stripes on some of these sets are.
I’m pretty sure it’s to ease mixing and matching across uni sets. If the blue pants had silver or white stripes, they wouldn’t match the black uniforms when paired with them. Same goes (at least in theory) for the white pants, although a black/black/white combo seems unlikely.
I also have an unfounded theory that that’s why the Commies gold pants don’t have stripes. As they currently exist, they *could* be paired with the BFBS alternate. But if it had burgundy or white stripes, not so much. Nike is just leaving options open, and creating worse unis for it.
Lions fan here. I often feel like I’m alone when I say that I want the Lions to wear the silver pants more. Fans here are obsessed with the “blueberries” and the “icy whites”
I’ve all but given up on the Lions ever wearing my desired set. At this point I’d settle for some striping on the blue and white pants.
I detest the black, to many Millen flashbacks. Was hoping for the throwbacks, at least once.
I feel like the stripe-less pants worked well in college football in the late 90″s/early 2000’s was because most college players didn’t wear matching socks. Most didn’t wear high socks at all. So, there was some contrast of some kind. The whole leotard look is horrible in the NFL.
Sad that after the refresh they only wore the clear best combination 1 time. Maybe getting their ass kicked in the blueberries in the playoffs will cool them off from that combo for a bit.
It seems so obvious the silver pants full time for the Lions is their best option. I am wondering if anyone can pinpoint exactly when and how the mono craze took over. And also why it became popular, I really struggle to understand why people like mono uniforms (white aside).
IIRC, the first monochrome uniforms of the current era belonged to the SDSU Aztecs. In the NFL, Seattle’s slate-colored uniforms and Buffalo’s navy blue set were first up, after showing half-light, half-dark combos at the unveiling.
i’m going to give the 2001 Saints the title of first in the NFL to do it. They wore black on black twice during that season and then the next year Seattle and Buffalo unleashed their travesties to the world the next season
not first to do it but first to commit to it i should say
It’s mostly to do with that damned Color Rash program that started in what, 2015? And never really gone away. Aesthetically, anyway.
It’s mostly to do with that damned Color Rash program that started in what, 2015?
White over blue would be fun too
It would be even better with stripes.
Given the fact that they pretty much only wore the mono crap, and laid a total egg in their playoff game after being the #1 seed, superstition would suggest going silver/blue (or white)/silver and/or blue/black/blue would be a good thing!
Anyone else noticed? It kind of has appeared to me all season that Nike’s newest fabric may have a sheen to it. The pic of the Lions with the blue/silver/blue appears to show it.
New set is a downgrade.
Honolulu Blue and Silver — one of the best, classic and most iconic color combinations in sports history. Why the marketing “geniuses” felt they had to tinker with perfection is beyond comprehension. I suppose they’d add black to the Michigan Wolverines’ maize and blue uniforms if they got the chance.
I agree with Brian F, the new wardrobe is not an upgrade. To me, the Lions should wear the blue jersey and silver pants with blue socks. It might be their best look, but it needs to be seen more to get a better opinion. The blue pants and white jersey is fine with me. I would need to see the silver pants and white jersey before I can judge it. The plain white pants need to be tossed. The blue helmet is a big downgrade over the prior blue helmet and should be tossed. The prior blue helmet was perfect. The black jersey and pants need to be taken to the incinerator. The BFBS is a joke. That would eliminate the blue/black/blue/black. We never saw it (thank goodness). The combination looks like a XFL team. The monolulu blue is good for a primetime game once a season, no more.
‘1957’ is best set.
Uni superstition is as ridiculous as it was for me to not be able to change the position I was sitting in the chair while my team was doing well back when I was a kid. If I were on a winning team now I’d be like, “how about giving us credit for being good players rather than having lucky clothes.”
The jerseys were definitely an upgrade. Even the black was better than the previous gray jersey, and the classic block numbers just look so much better than the previous bespoke font.
But, the uni combinations this year were underwhelming, and again, it comes down to the modern obsession with going mono. As a lifelong Detroiter and a Lions fan, they were a rough watch uni-wise – though no matchup was worse for me than the Houston game, which was largely due to the Texans’ total mono-red unis giving me a headache.
Once again, pants stripes would go a long way to lessening the yoga-pants look of the Lions, though I would still prefer the silver pants with the primary unis.
I don’t know if anyone has suggested this before, but it seems to me a no brainer for them to pair the black jerseys with the silver-gray helmets and pants to create a 2005-07 fauxback. The stripes on the jersey and pants match and its a far better look than black/black or black/stripeless-blue IMO
too similar to panthers. or I guess, panthers are too similar to the lions.
one of the two needs to distinguish themselves more.
I liked the more neon aqua the panthers were using a few years ago – seemed a bit more different. now the shades are too similar. that plus silver helmets, cat logo, and now black?! it’s the same.
So promising preseason, so disappointing during the season – uni-wise.
Promising season, disappointing post season – performance-wise.
Here’s hoping they cut the crap and get back to the blue, white and silver basics next year. And wear those glorious plain-Jane throwbacks on Thanksgiving… with black cleats!