The Detroit Lions' dream playoff run came to a heartbreaking end at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, ending a season that will be remembered by Detroiters for years to come.
The Lions opened the 2023 NFL season with a Thursday night exhibition against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and nearly closed out the NFL season in the same way, with all eyes on the Lions and the Chiefs, this time for the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs will play that game one more time after dispatching the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's AFC Championship Game, while the Lions will watch from home after their second-half collapse in San Francisco.
But before the heartbreak of the NFC Championship, the Lions gave their fans reason for hope in the first week of the season, coming to Kansas City and beating the defending champions 21-20.
“I didn't learn anything,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell would say after the opening night win. “I received verification of what I already knew.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions reacts during the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levis Stadium on January 28, 2024, in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
That opening night game fueled growing optimism in Detroit that the Lions, who hadn't made the playoffs since 2016, were on a different path than the “same old Lions” of years past. After winning eight of their final 10 games in 2022 and narrowly missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record, Lions quarterback Jared Goff outplayed Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and announced that the 2023 Lions would be different.
Despite suffering an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener the following week, the Lions would quickly make up for that optimism by reeling off four straight wins and taking the lead in the NFC North, a division they had never won.
But that optimism was tested after an embarrassing road loss at the hands of the Ravens in Week 7, who raced to a quick 28-0 by halftime and never looked back en route to a 38-6 victory.
“They kicked our butts,” Campbell would say after the Ravens game. “No one thinks that's funny, but I know that motivates me for next week, motivates our team. I know you'll do everything you can to never have that feeling again, so that's all I want to say by that.” .
The Lions wouldn't get that feeling again for another four weeks, as the team rebounded from the loss and began a three-game winning streak, including a thrilling shootout victory in Los Angeles against the Chargers in Week 10. The winning streak came to an end at the hands of the rival Green Bay Packers in Detroit's annual Thanksgiving Day game, a stretch in which the Lions would lose two of three games when they suffered another double-digit loss at the hands of the Chicago Bears in week 14.
Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions celebrates as he leaves the field after beating the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on November 12, 2023, in Inglewood, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)
LIONS' DAN CAMPBELL OUT FOR 4TH-DOWN DECISIONS IN LOSS TO 49ERS
The minislip raised doubts that the Lions could finish the job and win their first division championship since 1993, but Detroit would quickly alleviate those fears with a convincing home win over the Denver Broncos in Week 15. A road win against rival Minnesota The following week, the Vikings clinched the Lions' first NFC North crown and guaranteed the first home playoff game at Ford Field, where the Lions began playing in 2002.
Week 17 brought a critical path test with seeding on the line against the Dallas Cowboys, a game that ended in controversy after officials claimed Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker had not reported eligible before catching a potential game-winning two-point conversion pass in the final minute of the game. Postgame replays in which Decker spoke with the referees apparently told a different story, although it was too late to avoid the most painful loss of the season.
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker catches a pass for a two-point attempt in the end zone during the Dallas Cowboys game on December 30, 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Despite the controversial loss, the Lions closed the season with another win against the Vikings and finished 12-5, the franchise's first 12-win season since 1991.
The Lions' storybook season became even more surreal the following week in their first home playoff game in decades, as Detroit welcomed former franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford, who would try to end the Lions' dream season. his former team as an opponent playing for the Los Angeles Rams. But Goff, the other centerpiece of the trade that also saw several draft picks head to Detroit, would shine against his former team, completing 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown as the Lions secured a narrow 24-23 victory, his first. playoff victory since 1991.
A Packers loss to the Cowboys in one of the other NFC wild-card games meant that Detroit would have another chance to host a playoff game in the divisional round, an opportunity the Lions would seize with a 31-23 win over Baker Mayfield. and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TRAVIS KELCE AND TAYLOR SWIFT SHARE A CELEBRATION KISS AS FANS WONDER IF SHE WILL HOST SUPER BOWL LVIII
Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Lions catches a pass for a touchdown off Zyon McCollum of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFC divisional playoff game at Ford Field on Jan. 21, 2024 in Detroit.
The Lions carried that momentum to San Francisco on Sunday, building a 24-7 first-half lead before a series of Lions mishaps and big plays by the 49ers sent the NFC's No. 1 seed to the Super Bowl and to the upstart Detroit packing up its gear. bags after a historic streak.
Along the way, the Lions benefited from strong offensive line play, saw Goff enter the MVP race, received excellent first-team All-Pro seasons from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and the offensive tackle Penei Sewell, and witnessed promising rookie seasons. of draft picks such as running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch.
The team will now look forward to 2024 and the holes that need to be filled to give the Lions another chance to reach the Super Bowl next year. But the 2023 Lions will be savored for years and Campbell knows there are no guarantees of second chances in football.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I told those guys this might have been our only chance,” Campbell told reporters after Sunday's crushing loss. “Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how difficult it is to get here. I know it very well. And it will be twice as difficult to get back to this point next year than before.” “It was this year. That's the reality. And if we don't have the same hunger and the same work, which is another thing once we get to the offseason, then we won't have a chance to come back here.”
