This year’s NFC Championship Game is one the Detroit Lions and their fans will have nightmares about all offseason. One they seemingly had in the bag against the San Francisco 49ers entering the second half up, 24-7. Although the second half was entirely different from the first, and Detroit ended up losing 34-31, the campaign they had shouldn’t be discarded. General Manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have this team set up well for the future.
Detroit is a team that is just learning how to win. They’ve never really been a franchise that is expected to do much. While it hurts to get this close to your first Super Bowl appearance, not all is lost. Indeed, the Lions have pieces on both sides of the ball and an experienced quarterback who’s had some postseason success. Once they get the hang of riding that wave and stepping on an opponent’s neck when they’re down, these Lions could be dangerous.
It was a rocky start for Campbell in Detroit, especially those first few press conferences, but Holmes got it right in hiring the former Lions tight end. In just three short years, the Lions went from a three-win team to nine, and now 12, wins this season under coach Campbell. On top of that, they went 2-1 in their first postseason with Campbell at the helm. They simply ran into an experienced squad who is here just about every year. Many times, a heart-crushing loss is part of the process.
“I told those guys, ‘This may have been our only shot.’ Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? Absolutely not.” – Dan Campbell
One of the qualities about Campbell that made him stick out like a sore thumb initially is what Detroit has come to love about him. Campbell is going to be his authentic self, no matter the circumstances. After a devastating loss coming up short of securing the city’s first trip to the Super Bowl, Campbell kept it real. And he’s right, there is no guarantee the Lions will be back, although he doesn’t believe that. And from the outside looking in, it certainly looks like they’ll be in the mix for the next few years in the NFC.
Even if Detroit doesn’t get back to the NFC title game next year, you’ve got to think they’ll be among the top three to five teams in the conference again. We’ve seen over the years that all you’ve got to do is get in the playoffs, and from there, anything is possible. We saw it this postseason during the wild-card round when Green Bay marched into Dallas and laid the smackdown. The Packers, Giants and Ravens have all won Super Bowls as wild-card teams. It’s not always about who won the most during the regular season.
The Lions have their QB for at least another guaranteed season, but it seems he’s going to be around for a while. Besides Jared Goff, who turns 30 later this year, the offense is loaded with guys in their mid-20s or younger. Many of Detroit’s key contributors offensively, like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs, are all 24 and under. There’s no reason this offense can’t continue to grow and develop over the next year or two into a perennial NFC threat. Keep hitting it out of the park in the draft to add some pieces defensively and the Lions could be right back here very soon.
