“Come on Baker, you got this!”
OK, everything about this is surreal. The Detroit Lions will head Green Bay on Sunday with the playoffs on the line in freakin’ January. Just a few hours earlier, Lions fans will be cheering like crazy for Baker Mayfield and the L.A. Rams, who need to beat Seattle to keep Detroit’s playoff hopes alive.
I mean, who saw that coming two months ago?
“We believe in you Baker, just do your thing!”
Now, Lions fans are in a strange position, rooting against their own future draft pick while cheering for the quarterback who replaced the quarterback who replaced Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles.
It’s confusing and weird and wonderful — is this what it feels like? To be in the mix for the playoffs, heading into the final week of the season? Is this what Detroit has been missing lo these many years? Is this what it could be like for the next few years? How refreshing and fun and fascinating.
“All of Detroit loves you, Baker. We are sending strong, positive vibes your way!”
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To get into the playoffs, the Lions need two things to happen:
- The Lions have to beat Green Bay Sunday night at Lambeau Field, which is no simple task. The Packers are favored but it is not impossible;
- The Lions need the L.A. Rams to upset Seattle — a game that will actually finish before the Lions play the Packers.
That means, for this week, Lions fans are now rooting for the Rams, even those who refused to cheer for them a year ago in the Super Bowl. More specifically, all of Detroit is now rooting for Mayfield, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history (OK, yeah, just trying to boost him up and give him a shot of confidence).
All of this was unfathomable two months ago, considering Mayfield was still a member of the Carolina Panthers and the Lions were still the Lions of old, sucking far more than they were winning.
Strange, days, indeed.
“By the way, Baker, we love Progressive Insurance! Everybody in Detroit is buying it. And we loved those commercials with your wife. We want more of them! More Baker, give us more Baker, please!”
To make this a tad more complicated, the Lions hold the Rams’ first-round draft pick from the Stafford trade; so if the Rams beat Seattle, the Lions draft pick from the Rams will actually decrease in value.
So should Lions fans root for the Rams? In essence, rooting against their own pick?
Oh, hell yeah. If there’s one thing Lions fans know, draft picks come and go — some hit and some fizzle out — but playoff chances should never be taken for granted. You should cherish them like we all cherish a certain Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Oklahoma.
“Come on Baker, give us one more miracle, just like what you did against the Los Vegas Raiders on that magical night in December, completing the wildest story ever, getting cut by Carolina on a Monday, getting claimed by the Rams on a Tuesday and then guiding the Rams to a miracle victory on a Thursday, even though, um, you were still learning everybody’s name.”
That was a hard night for Lions fans.
Way back then, which seems like a lifetime ago in NFL terms, that Rams pick represented hope and the future.
But everything has changed.
And now, the hope and the future begins with Baker.
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“Man, Baker, that Vegas game was fun to watch. Just do that again, man. Go do your thing!”
None of this seemed possible, even two months ago.
Back when the Lions were struggling.
But Dan Campbell and his staff have transformed this team. They have won seven of eight, coming back from the dead. So give them all kinds of credit.
You want to know another crazy twist to this? The turnaround started with the Lions’ 15-9 victory over the Packers — so yes, they are beatable.
“They are, and we talked about it as a staff this is a better football team than we played the first time,” Campbell said mONDAY. “And so, you’ve got (Packers QB) Aaron Rodgers who’s — we all know, I mean he’s one of the best, man. One of the best to ever play the game and whenever you’ve got that at the quarterback position with that running back and the offensive line. And they’ve got some young receivers that are coming on, so it’s potent man. But I think more than anything to get where they’re at, all three phases are clicking together and they’re all just kind of boosting each other up and that’s why they’re a dangerous team right now.”
But you know something?
Don’t discount the Lions. Because this is not the same team the Packers played, either. The Lions might be more dangerous.
“We’re better, too,” Campbell said. “We’ve made a jump as well. So, we’re better too there’s no question. But this win kind of started us in the right direction the last time we played them and we really haven’t looked back. So, that’s why — I just think this is a — this is one of those games you just — you look forward to being a part of as a player, as a coach. The fans are going to love this. I just think it’s great. And you just — I don’t know if you could write it any better. It’s going to be great.”
Well, there’s one way to write it better.
And that starts with a Rams’ win.
“Come on Baker, we believe!”
Man, this weekend can’t get here soon enough.
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It’s time to break out those Detroit Rams jerseys, folks.
Because this is setting up to be a wild Sunday.
Oh, and go, Rams, go!
“I do think it’s very important because to get to this point, now, especially for a young team overall,” Campbell said.
All of this is even more fascinating because it appears the Lions are set up for long-term success — we pause here, because I can’t believe I just wrote that last sentence.
Because the Vikings are frauds. The Bears look hapless. And the Packers are near their end.
Like I said, everything about this is surreal and new.
And Lions fans are learning how to act, too, scoreboard watching and suddenly cheering for another team.
“We believe, Baker. We believe! All we want is a few more headbutts. Without the helmet, of course, after a Rams win!”
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Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.