"Jurassic Park." Michael Jordan. Whitney Houston. Cheap gas. This is what the pop culture world looked like the last time the Detroit Lions reached the apex of their division in 1993.
A lot has changed since then, but the division title finally returned to Detroit after a 30-year absence.
"This is special," head coach Dan Campbell said, "but, like I said, it's a special group."
The Lions needed every bit of the four turnovers they forced in a 30-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings, but they just achieved a level of success that has been hard for this franchise to come by. They will be hosting a playoff game for the first time since 1993, but the real streak they're still working on is winning a playoff game for the first time since 1991.
The Lions, to a degree, may be on a sliding scale where just being at this point is a major success, but with a team of this caliber they need to win.
Funnily enough, if the playoffs were to start today, former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford would be leading his Los Angeles Rams squad into Detroit for a playoff game. That might be a scary sight with how Stafford and the Rams are playing right now, but it does bring the Lions' achievement into full focus.
They swapped Stafford for Jared Goff and picks and have been able to use those assets to jumpstart a rebuild that has them in this situation. Goff has been a steady hand, and they have one of the best offensive lines in the league, a couple explosive skill players and a defense that can occasionally make the plays needed to win games.
Not a bad recipe for success — and a far cry from where they were even just last season when they had to rebound from a 1-6 start to make things interesting toward the end. Right now, they’re just good, which is a major step forward. Maybe not good enough to win the NFC this year, with the San Francisco 49ers breathing fire on everything that comes their direction, but good enough to be hosting a playoff game.
Home playoff games are the key to making any run toward the Super Bowl. Getting to the divisional round is something the Lions haven’t done since the 1991 season, when they lost to Washington in the NFC title game, but the NFC is weak enough where this can be the year they get it done.
"My perception of it just doesn't really click, you know?" rookie tight end Sam LaPorta said, according to The Athletic's Colton Pouncy. "I was born in 2001, so, I've (only) been on this earth 22 years."
The Lions should feel comfortable in their ability to take on any of the lower seeds in the NFC based on recent trends. If they don't play the Rams, they’re likely to see one of the Seahawks, Vikings or Packers in the wild-card round.
The Vikings are a good team, but have maxed out what’s possible for them this year due to their quarterback situation. Seattle is scary as long as they have their collection of top-end talent, but the defense is certainly able to be taken advantage of. The Packers just gave up 30 to the Panthers and gave up a game-winning drive to Tommy DeVito a few weeks ago. Detroit has a good shot to win against any of those teams, which would further cement this Lions team in the history books of their franchise.
Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes and the players they’ve acquired have the Lions back from the dead. This team isn’t a doormat for the rest of the league anymore. They’re one of the best-composed rosters in the league with a clear plan — with a chance to become a bonafide Super Bowl contender with one more strong offseason.
2023 is ending in a Honolulu Blue bang, something the NFL hasn’t seen for the better part of three decades.
"This is just the beginning," Campbell said. "We feel that way."
