After reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2023, and blowing a halftime lead in that game, the Detroit Lions easily could've wilted the following season. Instead they went 15-2, won the NFC North again and earned a first round playoff bye.
Of course the 2024 season ended with a disappointing Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders. When it came down to it, an incomprehensible litany of injuries across the defense finally became too much to overcome. Unfortunately, rampant injuries on the defensive side of the ball have become a theme for the Lions over the last couple seasons.
Following the NFC Championship Game loss with a one-and-done playoff exit certainly narrowed the Lions' Super Bowl window as they are currently constructed (just don't tell general manager Brad Holmes that). Missing the playoffs altogether last season shaved another year off that window.
Place on unfortunate list proves a missed opportunity for the Lions
Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus has ranked the top 10 teams to not win a Super Bowl in the last 20 years. No. 9 on the list is the 2024 Lions.
"In 2024, the Lions went from upstart competitor to outright contender. While finishing with a 15-2 record, Detroit deposited a 93.8 overall PFF grade, which trailed only the champion Eagles that season."
"Detroit’s remarkable year featured a terrific offense, as Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and others helped the team rank second in both EPA per play and average yards per play. On the other side, Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch powered a defense that allowed scoring drives at the 10th-lowest figure."
"Believe it or not, Dan Campbell’s 2024 squad is responsible for the fifth-highest single-season point differential at +222. After being upset by the Commanders in the divisional round, Campbell & Co. will hope to finally make the Super Bowl in a bounce-back 2026 campaign."
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Locker seems to have forgotten how Hutchinson only played five games in 2024 due to a broken leg. That makes what the Lions' defense did, and what then-defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was able to do with such an injury-riddled unit, look even better.
Three blowout wins by at least 38 points, and another win by 22 points, skewed the massive point differential Locker mentioned for the 2024 Lions. Still, the best team in the memory of most current fans fell short of the Super Bowl without a playoff win. And with that, a huge opportunity that will never be replicated due to all kinds of circumstances went by the wayside.
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