by Story by Amrith Malli Reddi
As the NFL season concludes with week 18, the NFC playoff picture is complete: Eagles clinched the number 1 spot along with a first-round bye; the 49ers, Buccaneers, and Vikings all clinched their division; the Cowboys, Seahawks, and Giants all clinched the wildcard spot. All seems well but every year here’s always a team that gets close but not close enough, and this year it happened to be the Detroit Lions.
In my last article, The Lions Roar Back, I mentioned the different scenarios and significance of the Lions making the playoffs. All they had to do was win their last three games. Although winning three games in a row is a rather difficult task, the second-easiest schedule to finish the season helps. But the lions had a tragic 37 to 23 loss to the panthers in week 16. Despite the Lions winning the next two games, it wasn’t enough to make the playoffs as the Seahawks took the wildcard spot in the postseason as they had the same 9 and 8 record but also beat the Lions in week 4, 48 to 45.
Many fans across the league believed the Lions would be able to pull off their comeback season. Winning the last 8 of their 10, the Lions had an amazing run to finish the season but they couldn’t overcome the 1 and 6 starts they had. As a die-hard Lions fan myself, I can’t say I’m too disappointed about missing the playoffs. Yes, we were close, but I learned to accept that success just isn’t for us. But others disagree. There are many positive takeaways from this season that we can learn.
Yes, they didn’t make the playoffs, but the Lions still have a bright future ahead of them. With a 9 and 8 record, this was the first year the team finished above .500 since 2017. Their defense is strong and led by players such as Jeff Okodah and Aiden Hutchinson, who both are young and have room for growth. They also have offensive talents such as Jamal Williams, a fiery young talented running back who broke the franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season previously held by Barry Sanders, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the number WR on the team.
The Lions also hold the 6th and 18th first-round draft picks, extremely valuable for a team that can add to its already young group of talent. And most importantly, the team has a strong and stable coaching staff. Led by head coach Dan Campbell, the team is ready to move forward and develop to be a greater force.
And the biggest positive to end the season might be beating Aaron Rogers and the Packers 20-16 in what is thought to be Rogers’s last game. If he does decide to step away, Lions fans can forever think that they ‘retired’ Aaron Rogers, their division enemy for the past decade.
Overall, we can take an optimistic viewpoint on this past season and we can look at it as not just another missed opportunity, but an important beginning. But only time will tell, as it always does for the Lions. It seems that good things just don’t stay for Detroit football, but we can only hope that next year the Lions will roar back.
wow that’s a very interesting way to put our win this season!