The Detroit Lions have been one of the most suffering franchises in professional sports for the better part of the last three decades.
Up until last year, the Lions had not won a division title since 1993 and had not won a playoff game since January 1992.
But in 2023, Detroit went 12-5 to capture the NFC North crown and proceeded to win a pair of playoff games, beating the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to advance all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
There, the Lions built a 24-7 halftime edge over the San Francisco 49ers before their past demons came back to haunt them, as they surrendered their lead in a devastating loss.
But just think: Detroit was that close to advancing to the Super Bowl, which spells a lot of hope for 2024.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski is fully buying into the Lions heading into next season and has gone as far to predict that Detroit will win the Super Bowl.
Can the Lions win their first Super Bowl in franchise history?
Detroit has never won a Super Bowl. It has won four NFL championships, but the most recent one came in 1957.
Can the 2024 campaign mark the year the Lions finally break the drought?
Well, Detroit certainly boasts one of the best rosters in football, particularly on offense with an explosive unit led by quarterback Jared Goff.
The Lions have one of the league’s best offensive lines, and they also lay claim to one of the game’s top wide receivers in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Plus, running back Jahmyr Gibbs could be on his way to superstardom, and Sam LaPorta is genuinely an elite tight end.
Detroit definitely has some question marks defensively, but it did its best to patch those holes this offseason, signing defensive linemen like D.J. Reader and Marcus Davenport and addressing its secondary by adding cornerback Terrion Arnold through the draft.
So, do the Lions have enough to get by the San Francisco 49ers?
The 49ers are probably the most talented team in the NFL, but let’s keep in mind that Detroit almost knocked them off in the conference title game last January.
Perhaps a bigger problem for the Lions (at least at first) will be surviving the NFC North, which may very well be the toughest division in the NFC.