Dan Campbell usually doesn’t look too far forward or mirror an excessive amount of on the previous, however for a second Monday, the Detroit Lions’ ultra-confident head coach allowed himself a second of perspective.
Gearing up for his second postseason with the Lions, Campbell referenced the whirlwind nature of his four-year tenure in Detroit.
“We’ve had attention for four years here,” Campbell, 48, stated. “There’s been more stuff that’s been made out, that’s been built one way. We’ve been so good. We’ve been so bad. We’re a laughing stock. Now we’re great. And it’s just been this roller coaster of ups and downs. This is the next week of it. This is nothing new that we’re in.”
It might be nothing new for this Detroit regime, however for the generations of Lions followers who predate Campell’s arrival, these waters are as uncharted as they get.
Lengthy the lovable losers of the NFL, the Lions are considered one of solely 4 groups to by no means make it to a Tremendous Bowl, not to mention win one.
The Lions did not even win a playoff sport between 1957 and 1992, after which once more from 1992 to 2024. The nice Barry Sanders completed his Corridor of Fame profession with just one playoff victory.
Detroit endured 16 seasons with double-digit losses in a 26-year span from 1996 to 2021 — a stretch that included the primary 0-16 season in NFL historical past in 2008.
However these are the outdated Lions.
Detroit enters Saturday evening’s divisional-round playoff sport towards the Washington Commanders as Vegas’ Tremendous Bowl favorites.
They tied for the NFL’s finest document at 15-2, incomes them the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The .882 win share was the perfect within the historical past of the Lions, who debuted in 1930.
Their high-powered offense led the NFL at 33.2 factors per sport and produced three gamers who scored double-digit touchdowns in operating backs Jahmyr Gibbs (20) and David Montgomery (12) and vast receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (12).
They usually pulverized the 14-win Minnesota Vikings, 31-9, in Week 18 to clinch the NFC North.
“We came into this year ready for games like this, ready for games like last week, ready for these big-time games, and wanted to have everything run through Detroit,” quarterback Jared Goff stated Tuesday. “Now we’ve got our opportunity to do that. It’s right here in front of us. We’ve got to go take advantage of it.”
It began with Campbell, a former journeyman tight finish with a hulking physique and larger-than-life presence. He raised eyebrows throughout his introductory Lions press convention in January 2021 when he described instilling a hard-nosed tradition wherein his gamers would, metaphorically, chunk off their opponents’ kneecaps.
Lower than two weeks later, the Lions traded franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for a package deal that included Goff and two first-round picks.
The Lions had been contemporary off of their third consecutive season with a minimum of 10 losses. They might lose one other 13 video games in Campbell’s first season, however his impression began translating into wins shortly thereafter.
Detroit went 9-8 in 2022 and narrowly missed the playoffs.
Then final season, the Lions went 12-5 and snapped their playoff drought, choosing up two postseason wins to advance to the NFC Championship Recreation.
Detroit led the San Francisco 49ers, 24-7, at halftime of that NFC Championship Recreation, however the Niners got here roaring again to beat the Lions, 34-31. Controversially, Campbell tried — and failed — to transform a pair of fourth downs within the second half fairly than accept subject targets, contributing to the loss.
However aggressiveness stays a calling card of Campbell. This season, the Lions had been profitable on 22 fourth downs, two shy of the NFL lead. That was out of 33 makes an attempt, giving them a 66.7% conversion charge that ranked seventh within the league.
And his gamers love him.
Left deal with Taylor Decker advised The Athletic that Campbell was the “best leader” he’s ever met. Goff stated Campbell was among the many smartest coaches, too.
“I mean, not that long ago, people were wearing paper bags over their heads to games here,” vast receiver Jameson Williams advised The Athletic. “Now we got the loudest stadium in the league.”
The Lions hope to present their followers extra causes to cheer Saturday — and past.
“It’s an exciting time in Detroit,” St. Brown stated Tuesday. “It has been for the past few years. We’ve got something special going. We’ve got to keep going, obviously, but I feel like we have a lot of things to root for on this team. A lot of players, coaches, whatever it may be. And the fans know they deserve it.”
Initially Revealed: January 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM EST
