Only until a few seasons ago, the Detroit Lions were the butt of jokes in the NFL. Until 2021, the team had missed the playoffs in 4 consecutive seasons and hadn't even won a playoff game since the early '90s. When Matt Patricia was fired in the 2020 season, it was clear that only a miracle could save the dumpster fire Lions. And boy, did a miracle show up.
Dan Campbell, whose passion can be matched by none other, has emerged as one of the strongest minds in football and has almost single-handedly turned the fortunes of the Lions one step at a time.
The 2022 season saw the Lions miss the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. Looking to better their 2022 finish, the 2023 Lions have exploded on the NFL scene, holding the NFC's second-best record, having won 5 of their 7 games played.
Jared Goff has gone from draft bust to one of the league's best quarterbacks, while Aidan Hutchinson looks to be delivering on his hype as the second overall pick, emerging as the best defensive player in the NFC.
It might be too early to say so, but for once, all looks up in America's Motor City. But how did this come to be?
Let's turn our clocks back to the end of the 2020 season.
Bleak beginnings
The words "Detroit Lions" are almost synonymous with sadness. Despite greats like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and even Joe Schmidt, the Lions have yet to taste success in their 93 years of existence.
The curse of Bobby Lane, who remarked that the Lions would not be victorious in the 50 years following his trade has stuck around the Lions for seemingly all of eternity.
Even after the curse ended, the Lions have found success hard to come by even with Stafford and Johnson at the helm, as the best result that the Lions could muster up in recent times was only wildcard appearances.
When Matt Patricia was hired as the Lions' head coach at the beginning of the 2018 season, it was expected that he would bring with him the defensive prowess that he was known for in his time with the New England Patriots.
However, results only spiralled further with Patricia in the hot seat. Heading into the 2020 season, he had only won 9 games in his 2 years in Detroit.
Losing to the Houston Texans in Detroit's Thanksgiving game would seal Patricia's fate - he would be fired as the Lions coach and have one of the worst winning percentages as Lions head coach.
The Dan Campbell Era
With the Lions going back to square one, no one would've expected them to contend for a playoff spot in the near future. However, Dan Campbell had other plans.
Campbell certainly wouldn't be the man you visualise to turn around a team's fortunes. He hadn't been the head coach of an NFL team before (although he was the interim coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2015). He was also older than most NFL head coaching hires are. With all of this, expectations for the Lions were low heading into the 2021 season and they were largely expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL.
However, Campbell didn't get the memo. In his first press conference as head coach of the Lions, he produced several noteworthy quotes.
"This place has been kicked, it's been battered, it's been bruised. I can give you coach speak all day long, none of that matters — you've had enough of that s-t."
"This team is going to take on the identity of this city, and this city's been down and it's found a way to get up. This team's going to be built on, we're going to kick you in the teeth."
His high energy and clear love for Detroit almost immediately resonated with Detroit sports fans. After a very long time, it seemed as if the Lions finally had the right man and it finally seemed like they were going places.
With the Lions being the worst team in the NFL for many years on end, and simply having a winning percentage greater than .500 being viewed as progress, there was little to no pressure on Campbell to do wonders from the get-go.
Progress
If you look at the win record from the 2021 season, you'd think it was yet another season in the basement for the Lions - a 3-13-1 record, with them not having won a game until Week 11.
However, this can be misleading. Six of their losses were one-score games, one of which was the game against the Baltimore Ravens, in which they were dealt a cruel loss after Ravens kicker Justin Tucker nailed an NFL-record 66-yard field goal in the dying seconds of the game to snatch the victory from the hands of the winless Lions.
The 2021 season allowed Campbell to train his players in the Dan Campbell way - aggressive play-calling and high energy.
Despite a slow start to the 2022 season as well, the Lions would win 8 of their final 10 games, which helped them to stay in playoff contention until the last week of the season.
The Lions, looking to build on a promising base, have certainly surpassed expectations this season, with their 5-2 record good enough to secure the second seed in the NFC as of Week 8.
How have the Lions done this? Over the 7 weeks since the 2023 NFL season has begun, the Lions have shown to be a prolific scoring team, averaging roughly 25 points each game. Campbell's personality has installed a level of healthy confidence in this squad that can be matched by none other.
They also come out victorious in close games, like their win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.
Let's focus on their Week 1 performance against the Chiefs. It would be ludicrous to expect a team like the Lions to go toe-to-toe with the defending champions Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes. But that's exactly what they did. And boy, did it work out, as they came out victorious in one of the best performances by the Lions this century.
Goff has blossomed into a top-10 QB with the Lions this season, distancing himself from his time with the Los Angeles Rams. Sam LaPorta has emerged as a very promising TE prospect in just his rookie season, while Amon-Ra St. Brown is a more than decent WR.
On the other side of the ball, Hutchinson looks like one of the most complete defensive players in the league putting up more than formidable numbers in almost every defensive stat there is, while Jerry Jacobs has proved to be a formidable CB this season, with his 3 interceptions being the joint 2nd most in the NFC this season.
Even their draft picks, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, LB Jack Campbell, TE Sam LaPorta and S Brian Branch, have shown great promise this season
They also have a young core taking the field. With an average age of just 25.7 years, their roster is one of the youngest in the league.
Looking forward
The Lions have proved to us this season that they don't just pick on low-lying teams; they can also beat the top dogs. Wins against the Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are enough proof of this.
Judging by their schedule, you would certainly expect them to at least win the NFC North. Even winning in the wildcard round doesn't sound too far-fetched. With their stellar offense, and a defense with potential, who knows what could happen? Only a few years ago, we saw a Cincinnati Bengals team sneak into the playoffs, before ultimately falling short in the Superbowl.
Dan Campbell does have the mental toughness that defines a team, combined with equally strong play-calling abilities.
With this team's youth, a team hungry for success and a mastermind for a coach, the sky's the limit for these Detroit Lions.