Detroit Lions get one of top 2022 season grades in NFC from The 33rd Team

After finishing with their first winning record since 2017, the Detroit Lions have received a fantastic 2022 season grade from The 33rd Team.

It didn’t look good with a 1-6 start, but the Detroit Lions went 8-2 over their last 10 games to finish 9-8. It was the franchise’s first winning season since 2017, and after narrowly missing the playoffs the arrow is pointing up.

Last Wednesday, Kyle Brandt of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” named the Lions as the team he thinks can dethrone the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC next season.

Via SI.com:

"I’m going with Detroit because of a couple reasons. Money to spend, great momentum, great quarterback, coach who had it cooking,” Brandt explained. “Guys, they have the sixth pick, they have the 18th pick, they were the hottest team in football. They bashed the Packers in the last week in Lambeau (Field). The only thing that kept them out of the playoffs was just time, they ran out of time and they didn’t start the season strong enough."

Detroit Lions get very nice 2022 season grade from The 33rd Team

Shifting back to this past season, The 33rd Team graded each team’s 2022 season–split by conference.

Senior writer Barry Wilner wrote this about the Lions in the NFC grades.

"The Detroit Lions were one of the success stories of the season, particularly on offense. Here’s a measure of how far Detroit progressed in 2022: The Lions went 5-1 in the division, including sweeping the hated Green Bay Packers, keeping them out of the postseason. Dan Campbell’s aggressive coaching and personality have infiltrated the players, from revitalized QB Jared Goff to RBs D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and a strong defensive line. No. 2 overall draft pick DE Aidan Hutchinson was a stud."

The Lions were given an A-, the best grade in the NFC North. In the NFC as a whole, only the Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants had a better grade (an A for each). The Seattle Seahawks matched the Lions with an A-.

The Lions have invited optimism about them looking to next season with all the positivity from the 2022 season. Which is surely a scary thought for fans. But this set of coaches and players is wired different than previous Lions’ teams, and they may deliver on that optimism.