'We Are Built to Win': Lions Prove Why They Are Best NFL Team

Through nine weeks, the Lions have proven they can beat anybody.

Nov 3, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) celebrates as he runs off the field following the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In 2024, the Detroit Lions – time and time again – have proven that they can hang with and beat anybody.

Whether indoors or outdoors, they’ve consistently found a way to weather the elements and overcome every bit of adversity they've faced.

And after nine weeks (and Sunday's win over Green Bay), it's hard to say there's an NFL team better than Dan Campbell's NFC North-leading Lions right now.

They have found a way to win at both home and on the road all season long, no matter how hostile the environment has been. There is arguably no better example of that than in Detroit's NFC North showdown with the Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday. 

Everybody and their mother understood it would be tough for Campbell & Co. to go into Green Bay – play outdoors for the first time this season – and emerge victorious. To make matters worse, the conditions were going to be less than optimal, with the forecast calling for a steady rain. And boy, did mother nature unleash one heck of a downpour of rain. 

For four quarters, the rain failed to relent, leading to a wet and slippery Lambeau Field surface and making it hard to see for members of both the Lions and the Packers. Just ask Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, whose rain-soaked glasses became a popular talking piece and viral image on “X” Sunday.

These less-than-ideal conditions were supposed to favor the Packers, which call Lambeau Field – aka “The Frozen Tundra" – home. Yet, it was just the opposite on Sunday, with Detroit looking like the home team and Green Bay looking like the team that played the majority of its games indoors.

The Lions, by far, played the cleaner game. They failed to turn the ball over once, and signal-caller Jared Goff delivered another ultra efficient performance. He completed his first 11 passes, and finished 18-of-22 for 145 yards and a touchdown. And, for his efforts, he earned an 88.9 QBR.

Meanwhile, Green Bay turned the ball over once, and Jordan Love failed to find much success through the air. The second-year starting QB delivered a sloppy performance. He threw an interception late in the second quarter that resulted in a Kerby Joseph touchdown. Plus, he fumbled three times, and was just lucky that all three fumbles were recovered and did not result in turnovers. 

As a whole, Love had an underwhelming day, completing less than 60 percent of his passes – 23-of-39 passing – for 273 yards and no touchdowns.

By the end of the 24-14 victory for Detroit, one team clearly looked like a “dome” team – and it wasn't Campbell's Lions squad.

“Whenever you get in these games – once a year, you kind of get one like this. In Green Bay, in Lambeau,” Goff told Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews after the game. “We’re supposed to be the dome team. We come in here and were supposed to be the team that can’t play outside. And, we come in here and win.”

"We're supposed to be the 'dome' team, we're supposed to be the team that can't play outside, and we come out here and win." @Lions QB @JaredGoff16 joins @ErinAndrews after Detroit's win in Green Bay! pic.twitter.com/BZ9A6vMeRS

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 4, 2024

Detroit’s offensive attack Sunday was also aided by a solid outing from its backfield duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The tandem amassed 138 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, good for an average of 4.9 yards a carry. Montgomery led the way on the ground with 73 yards, while Gibbs accounted for the duo's lone touchdown on a 15-yard scamper in the third quarter. 

For the game, Gibbs accumulated 65 yards on 11 carries, good for an average of 5.9 yards a carry. With the effort, the second-year back has now averaged an NFL record five-or-more yards per rushing attempt in seven straight games (on a minimum of 10 rushing attempts per game).

Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's unit weathered the conditions, and turned in an all-around impressive effort. And, key to all of it was Goff & Co. playing turnover-free football.

“That was big,” Campbell said in the postgame about Detroit not committing a single turnover. “We knew that coming in here. There were a number of things we talked about: run game supremacy, we talked about explosives, as crazy as that sounds in that type of weather. But, whoever could come up with the most explosives, field position and turnover ratio. The fact that we took care of the football. We preached it all week. We worked it. Wet ball drills every day at  practice outdoors. Our guys really did a great job. Goff took great care of the football, and it was the difference. It was a big difference.” 

Goff has now completed at least 80 percent of his passes in three straight games (min. 15 attempts) – the first player to do so in a single season. Plus, he's produced the highest completion percentage (82.8 percent) and the highest passer rating (140.1) of any quarterback in a six-game stretch in NFL history. 

In any six-game span in @NFL history, @Lions QB Jared Goff has:

- the highest completion percentage (82.8%)

- the highest passer rating (140.1)#OnePride pic.twitter.com/TCGmphgRFj

— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) November 4, 2024

Undeniably, Goff is playing some of the best football he ever has as an NFL quarterback. 

“As you get older, you just start to learn when to take chances and when not to,” the veteran passer told reporters after the game. “I know I’ve said this before, but I just feel like I’m playing pretty disciplined. Trying to take care of the ball and get it in our playmakers’ hands. There’s a couple I’d like back today where I think I might have had Kalif (Raymond) open and I didn’t get back to him as the number two in the progression. I may have had (Amon-Ra) St. Brown open on third down, and I didn’t get it to him. Those will still drive me to get better, but I’m taking care of the ball pretty well right now. And, I’m going to try to keep doing it.” 

Rain or shine, indoors or outdoors, these Detroit Lions are built to win. Period. 

They don't care who they're playing or where they're playing them. They just have one thing consistently on their minds: winning.

“There are things, there is tape, there are things we have to clean up in a hurry across the board, and we will. But, I know this: I am not shocked one bit that we came over here and played pretty good football out in the elements,” Campbell expressed. “We are built for this, man, and it doesn’t matter just because we play indoors. It doesn’t matter. We can play anywhere. We can play in the snow. We can play in the rain. Play in the mud. That is just us, and we are built to win, man.” 

Detroit is not only built to win games through the first nine weeks of the season. It's also built to win on the NFL's biggest stage. 

Equipped with the relentless mentality of their head coach, a high-powered offense and a capable defense, the Lions are good enough to make history and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. And if they continue on the pace they're currently on, they're bound to do just that. 

Unequivocally, they are the best team the NFC has to offer. And presently, I'm not afraid to say that I’d also label Detroit as the NFL's very best team.