Do you believe in miracles?
The Detroit Lions have long been a laughingstock among the professional sports world. The franchise is one of 12 NFL teams to have never won a Super Bowl and has only reached the NFC championship game twice since the 1966 NFL-AFL merger. After decades of mediocrity and disrespect, Detroit is strongly positioned to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time ever.
As +290 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the Super Bowl, the Lions would like to know — who’s laughing now?
Season in review
The Dan Campbell hiring in 2021 received plenty of criticism at the time, but it turns out that Detroit may have known what they were doing all along. Over the head coach’s tenure, the Lions have become a powerhouse, due in no small part to Campbell’s complete cultural overhaul of the franchise, plus excellent coordinators in OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn, both of whom are receiving head coach interviews with other franchises.
With plenty of star-caliber talent in place thanks to general manager Brad Holmes’ shrewd, sometimes contrarian draft selections, the Lions are well-equipped to avenge last season’s NFC Championship loss and finally make it to the big stage. The squad secured their second-straight NFC North title and locked up the No. 1 seed with a 15-2 record, the best regular season in franchise history. To top it off, they did so in dominant fashion.
As Campbell himself puts it, the Lions want to bite opponents’ kneecaps off with their smash-mouth style of play… metaphorically speaking, of course. With a strong offensive line, the one-two punch of halfbacks David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for not only 2,187 rushing yards, but slightly over 3,000 scrimmage yards and 32 total touchdowns. Gibbs himself accounted for a shade over 1,900 total yards from scrimmage and led the league in total TDs with 20 of his own, blowing away already-high expectations.
Quarterback Jared Goff, once cast aside from the Los Angeles Rams, is playing the best football of his career at the moment. The 30-year-old completed 72.4% of his passes for 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. His pass-catching weapons have similarly excelled with a pair of 1,000-plus yard receivers in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. The former is every bit the superstar of the past few years with 1,263 receiving yards and 12 scores, but the latter finally hit his stride with 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns of his own following a rocky start to his career. Tight end Sam LaPorta took a bit of a backseat in the pecking order, but still finished the regular season with 726 yards and seven touchdowns, as well.
The offense gets most of the headlines, but the defense and their perseverance through injuries is almost more impressive. EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, in the midst of a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber campaign, broke his left leg in Week 6 and hasn’t played since. EDGE Marcus Davenport’s season ended in September due to injury, while linebacker Alex Anzalone missed seven games. His fellow linebacker Derrick Barnes missed 14 contests and remains on injured reserve. Finally, cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Emmanuel Moseley missed three and 15 games each, the latter of whom remains on the NFI list due to illness.
Despite missing so many key contributors on that side of the ball, the Detroit’s defense continues to play excellent football. The unit concedes the seventh-fewest points per game of any team (20.1) and stifles the run at an elite level (98.4 YPG), good for fifth-best in the NFL. While their total yardage and passing yards allowed are less impressive, ranking 20th and 30th, their pass-funnel defense makes sense considering opponents typically play from behind and abandon the run anyways. With 16 interceptions this season, tied for fourth among all teams, they frequently turn these passing situations into turnovers, too.
Postseason outlook
Securing a first-round bye is the best thing a team can do to position themselves for a Super Bowl. As mentioned already, the Lions took care of business and get an extra week off for game planning and body recovery, which is crucial after 18 grueling weeks of football. Nobody is fully healthy at this point of the season, but the bye gives Detroit a crucial rest advantage over whoever their opponent may be.
When the time comes for the Divisional round, the Lions will face the lowest remaining seed of the Los Angeles Rams (No. 4), Minnesota Vikings (No. 5), Washington Commanders (No. 6), and Green Bay Packers (No. 7). It’s tough to predict exactly which opponent falls into place, but the Lions will have an advantage regardless of whatever team ends up on the opposite sideline.
Detroit is a buzzsaw, averaging an NFL-best 33.2 points per game. Their scoring margin, another league-high at an impressive 13.1 points, shows that they don’t just defeat opponents — they beat them into submission. Detroit also ranks second in the NFL with 409.5 total yards per contest, plus they have the league’s second-best passing attack and sixth-best rushing offense. It quite literally does not matter what look an opposing defense shows them. Whether on the ground or through the air, the Lions will move the ball and find a way to score.
Detroit boasts eight wins over playoff teams, including victories against the Rams, Steelers, Texans, and the AFC’s top-seeded Chiefs. They also beat the Vikings and Packers twice each, so they likely aren’t sweating those potential matchups too much. And while the Lions suffered a 20-16 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 2 and a 48-42 defeat to the Bills in a thrilling Week 16 showdown, the team in Honolulu Blue is certainly capable of sending both those squads packing in a potential rematch.
The decades-long wait for their first-ever Lombardi Trophy has been an extremely long, dark winter for Detroit, but while playoff stakes are high, the vibes in Motor City remain higher. The team, fans, and city all deserve this. Now, they just have to make it count.
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