Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
C’mon…I mean what else did you expect? Did you honestly expect the Detroit Lions season to end in anything else but a complete and total heartbreak? Ok, maybe that is being A little harsh, but if almost 100 years of NFL history has taught us anything, it is that there are only 3 things constant in this life: Death, Taxes, and Detroit fans being left with an empty hole in their soul at the end of every season.
This year would prove to be no different than the rest. If you keep up with the NFL, you would know that one of the biggest surprises of the 2023-2024 season is how good the Lions have been. I know, it feels weird just saying it. Detroit finished their season with a 12-5 record, their best finish since 1991. Rookies Sam LaPorta, Jahymr Gibbs, and Brian Branch all looked like future stars in the making and QB Jared Goff had the best statistical season of his career.
After edging out the Rams in Matthew Stafford’s return to Detroit, the Lions flattened the Bucs and reached their first NFC Championship since 1992 (take that Cowboys fans!!). No matter what happened after that, Lions fans were content with their season. They had just won two playoff games and had a bright future in front of them. Nothing could possibly happen that could make this season feel like a defeat…or so they thought.
Halfway through the NFC championship game, it looked like the curse was finally over for the Lions. They played great in the first half, running the ball effectively and holding Brock Purdy and the 49ers to just one touchdown going into the locker room with a 24-7 lead. Little did they know that the score 24-7 would forever live in infamy in the minds of sports fans around the world.
Coming out of halftime things still looked good for the Lions. They managed to hold San Fran to a field goal on their opening drive and were putting together their own drive down the field. Now, one of the biggest parts of the Lions success this season was the incredible coaching of Dan Campbell. He had reinvigorated the Lions with his fiery style of coaching and his tactical gambles on 4th down, while controversial, had got them through in some tight games.
Unfortunately for the Lions, it is Campbells blind arrogance that would be their undoing. On 4th and 2 in clear field goal range Campbell decided to keep the offense on the field for fourth down. Any reasonable coach would recognize that this was not a risk that needed to be taken. All the Lions had to do was kick a field goal and they would erase San Frans opening drive keeping the mental advantage on the side of Detroit.
As expected, Detroit failed to get the first down and all the momentum shifted back to the 49ers. On the single greatest play I have ever seen, the Niners scored a touchdown on a ridiculous catch by Brandon Aiyuk that bounced off the defender’s face mask. To add insult to injury, the Lions immediately fumbled the ball on the first play of their next drive, setting the Niners up for another CMC touchdown.
In a matter of only 12 minutes, the Lions had gone from fantasies of the super bowl, to a tie game. The Lions continued to pass up on easy field goals and the Niners continued to dominate. With the score 34-24, the Lions put together a last ditch comeback but it was already too late. They failed to recover the onside kick and hearts of Lions fans everywhere crumbled to dust.
Needless to say, this game was one of the most disgustingly coached NFL games I have ever seen by a coach. Dan Campbell let his ego get in the way of what really mattered and they let the game slip away from them as a result. Michael Badgley is in no way a stellar kicker, but in situations as high pressure and important as the playoffs you have to let the man do his job —especially when you’re holding a lead!
Now, unlike most fans, I still believe there is a silver lining to this loss. Despite the outcome, this playoff run gave the Lions a valuable taste of the playoff atmosphere. Even if they had made the super bowl I doubt they would have been able to handle the pressure of a stage that big with as little playoff experience as they had (look at the 2022 Bengals!). Now, with a pattern of mistakes under their belt they can only learn and grow as a team from here.
Some were under the impression that this was the Lions only shot to win a Super Bowl. Clearly, these people have no idea what they are talking about because with the best rookie class in the league and a relatively young QB, the Lions are poised to enjoy even more playoff success for years to come. Will they ever be able to get over the hump and break the curse that has plagued Detroit sports teams for 30 years? For the sake of every person in Detroit I sure hope so. But at the end of the day, this game proved that we are still dealing with the same old Lions.