The Lions look poised to be one of the best teams in the NFC in the near future after years of misery, but there are no guarantees in the NFL. (Just ask the Giants, who came back down to earth with a 6-11 record in 2023 after overcoming a playoff drought and winning the wild-card game last season).
And while Dan Campbell believes he has another chance to take his team to its first Super Bowl, he faced a harsh truth for his team after Sunday’s crushing loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
“I told them this might have been our only shot,” Campbell told his players after Detroit led 24-7 at halftime and lost 34-31. Told.
“Do I think so? No. Do I believe it? No. But I know how hard it is to get here. I know very well. It’s twice as hard to get back to this point next year as it was this year. That would be the reality. And without the same hunger and the same work, which is a whole different thing once you get into the offseason, there’s no hope of getting back here. How much have we improved, what have we added? I don’t care what you did or what you drafted. It doesn’t matter.”
One reason next year will be even tougher for the Lions is that after a 12-5 season, a district title and a championship game appearance, they can no longer sneak up on the rest of the NFL.
“It’s going to be tough,” Campbell said. “Everyone in our department is going to be reloaded, and you won’t be hiding from anyone anymore.
“Everyone is going to want a piece of you, and that’s fine. That’s why it’s tough. You want to make the most of every opportunity, and we had our chances, too. I couldn’t finish it.”
Campbell has transformed the Lions from a championship contender to a championship hopeful, but he also played a big role in Sunday’s demolition of Detroit.
He made several questionable decisions that backfired, starting with abandoning a 46-yard field goal attempt to go 4-and-2 with 7:03 left in the third quarter for a 24-10 lead. did.
The 49ers held off the Lions, scoring a touchdown on a five-play, 72-yard drive thanks to a miraculous 51-yard catch by Brandon Aiyuk that caught Lions corner Kindle Vildor’s facemask and a touchdown. It took just 1 minute and 41 seconds to get back in range. .
After the 49ers took a 27-24 lead, Campbell gambled again, passing a 48-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-3 with 7:32 left in the fourth, but the Lions had another chance. I couldn’t do that. .
And on the Lions’ final drive, with less than 90 seconds left on the clock, Campbell missed another field goal opportunity in the 49ers’ red zone. That would have put Detroit in touchdown range and held all the timeouts.
Instead, the Lions went for a touchdown and were forced to call a timeout with a minute left after Campbell made a running play on third-and-goal short of the 1-yard line.
Despite scoring a touchdown on the next play, the 49ers were able to run out the clock after recovering an onside kick.
