On Sunday afternoon, head coach Dan Campbell and his Detroit Lions broke through and advanced to the NFC Championship game with a home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisonal round. The victory is the latest milestone in what has been a rapid turnaround for the Lions franchise ever since Campbell took over just three years ago with a viral, meme-filled press conference.
The Lions also separated themselves historically from two of their NFC counterparts in the victory. With the win over Tampa Bay, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders now have the two longest droughts of not making the NFC Championship Game, per FOX Sports: NFL on X. Dallas has not made the NFC championship in 28 seasons, while Washington hasn’t earned the distinction in 32 seasons.
Few could have envisioned the Lions experiencing this level of prosperity this early into Dan Campbell’s tenure. Detroit was expected to take a step forward this year following a near miss on last season’s NFL postseason; however, the Lions consistently blew away expectations on the 2023 campaign, which began with them knocking off the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road and went from there.
