It still feels weird to say the Detroit Lions have legitimate Super Bowl hopes this year. But they absolutely do, with one of the best rosters in the NFL, and a grind of a win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 is the kind of win top-end teams with those kind of aspirations find a way to get.
The Lions now have a second straight rematch from last year's playoffs to start the season, as they'll welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back to Ford Field in Week 2. They also played the Buccaneers during last year's regular season, in Tampa Bay.
If it feels like a team opening a season with back-to-back playoff rematches from the previous season is rare, it is.
ESPN's Eric Woodyard passed along just how rare it is.
"The #Lions are only the 4th team in NFL history to start with 2 playoff rematches from the previous season, and the first 3 teams all at least reached the Super Bowl that szn, per @ESPNStatsInfo."
Scheduling quirk bolsters Lions' Super Bowl hopes
The other three times in NFL history where a team opened a season against two playoff opponents from the previous year were the Green Bay Packers in 1966, the San Francisco 49ers in 1984 and the New England Patriots in 2007. As Woodyard noted, all three reached the Super Bowl that year.
As for the subsequent result in the big game, the Packers won Super Bowl I over the Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers won Super Bowl XIX over the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots, who went 16-0 in 2007, lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants.
Historical quirks are more interesting than they are especially meaningful. The Lions still have to get it done on the field.
But it's also been rare for the Lions to have positive historical context or related positive karma on their side. So this random scheduling quirk is certainly better than the alternative that a losing history has invited for way too long.