Lions Shedding Old Reputation, Gaining Respect

Drought is over; Lions win first division title in 30 years.

Merry Christmas, Lions fans. Your NFL franchise is a division champion for the first time since the 1993 season. 

This writer here was less than a year old the last time the organization laid claim to a division title. Meanwhile, only four present Detroit players were actually born at the time: long snapper Jake McQuaide, offensive lineman Graham Glasglow, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and left tackle Taylor Decker.

In case you were wondering, Lions starting passer Jared Goff was born a year later, in 1994.

And, the division, at the time, wasn't known as the NFC North yet. It was still referred to as the NFC Central, and featured five teams instead of four. The Buccaneers, which were the fifth team, moved to the NFC South once the NFL expanded to four divisions per conference in 2002. 

It was a vastly different world back in ‘93. 

For instance, a loaf of bread cost just 75 cents, a gallon of gas cost only $1.11, Bill Clinton had just been inaugurated president for the first time, “Jurassic Park” was tops at the box office and the late Whitney Houston was still queen of the music world. Her hit, “I Will Always Love You,” was the No. 1 song in America.

Undeniably, a lot has changed over the last three decades, including with the Lions. 

And fortunately for Detroit fans, in 2021, Lions ownership finally made a commitment to establishing a winning culture, and hired Chris Spielman, Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell to their respective roles. 

Because from 1994 until then, Detroit had made just seven playoff appearances, had failed to host a lone playoff game and had failed to win a single postseason contest. Additionally, the franchise had gone a measly 165-266-1 in that time span, with a winless season (0-16 in 2008) smackdab in the middle of all those campaigns.

Even as the losses piled up, the Lions faithful’s support did not waver one bit, though. The fans continued to show up in droves, first at the Pontiac Silverdome and then at Ford Field in downtown Detroit (which opened its doors in 2002). And, they remained hopeful, even without much on-field proof, that their favorite NFL team would turn around its fortunes one day.

After starting off the 2022 campaign 1-6 and having won just three games the season prior, it was far from a guarantee that Campbell would be the head coach to right the ship in Motown. Many fans, in fact, had started to doubt that Campbell, a former tight end with the organization, was the right man for the job.

At the time, it was much more likely that Campbell would be the latest in a line of Lions head coaches to end up unceremoniously fired.

However, since that sixth loss of last season (which came on Oct. 30 to the Miami Dolphins), the organization has undergone a turnaround of seismic proportions.

In fact, in its last 25 games, Detroit has recorded an astounding 19-6 mark. And, since January 1, Campbell's squad has lost just four times, and has clearly become the NFC North’s best team.

If anyone has deserved a winner, it's been this passionate Lions fanbase, a group of fans which has endured 19 losing seasons since ‘93.

Goff, just like the team he's currently employed by, has been dogged and underestimated in the not-so-distant past.

In the Matthew Stafford blockbuster trade of nearly three years ago now, Goff was viewed as nothing more than a throw-in to complete the transaction. And, in the eyes of many pundits and fans, the veteran signal-caller was going to simply serve as the “bridge quarterback” to Stafford's true successor in the Motor City. 

Grades: Lions Create Christmas Memories with Thrilling Win

Fast-forward to today, though, and the narrative regarding Goff has flipped. He's turned around his play, like the Lions, and is now viewed by many as the organization's long-term solution under center.

“It's hard to (describe), it's a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work, excuse me, a lot of hard work and yeah, the division (championship) feels good,” a clearly emotional Goff told the NFL Network postgame regarding Detroit's turnaround. “It's emotional, but it's just the beginning for us. It's the first checkmark for us. I get emotional thinking about all the guys that went through 3-13-1, went through 1-6 early last year and now can stand here as NFC North champs.” 

Goff and Campbell each deserve a significant amount of credit for the team's drastic turnaround. 

Through the strong leadership abilities of both, they've helped firmly establish a winning brand of football in the Motor City. And, in doing so, they've made it a “special” time to be a Lions fan.  

“I'm proud of a number of people in this organization,” Campbell said, after Detroit's NFC North-clinching victory over the Vikings Sunday. “Certainly proud of the coaches and the players. This is special. This is special. It’s something you don’t get to do all the time. It’s always special to win a division. I don’t care how many of them you get, because of the work that goes into it. To do something that hasn’t been done in 30 years for a team is special.”

Lions fans, it's time to breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate. Your Lions – yes, your Detroit Lions, the one-time laughingstocks of the league – are NFC North champions.