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The Detroit Lions are just one of four remaining teams fighting for a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Not many people envisioned the Lions making it this far, but they have exceeded all expectations in Dan Campbell's third season as the team's head coach.
The Lions last made the NFC Championship back in 1992 when they lost to then-Washington Redskins, 41-10. The quarterback for them was Erik Kramer, who filled in for the hurt Rodney Peete, while Barry Sanders led the backfield. That was the only time Detroit has made it to the conference championship. That was until this year.
The Lions will look to make it to their first Super Bowl on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. They are just one of four active teams to never make it to the big game, but they'll fully have a chance to do so this year. Will Detroit make it to the Super Bowl? Can they beat the 49ers this weekend? Let's dive in.
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How Did The Lions Get Here?
After a successful 2022-2023 campaign, the Lions were destined to be better during the 2023-2024 season. They were chosen to open the year on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and had the ninth-best odds (+2200) before the season started to win the Super Bowl. Now, they are just two wins away from doing so.
The Lions started their season with a bang, winning on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in a game that no one gave Detroit a chance. They then entered the Week 9 bye with a 6-2 record with losses to the Seattle Seahawks (37-31) and Baltimore Ravens (38-6).
In the second half of the year, they finished with a 6-3 record and took care of business against non-playoff teams. They did slip up, though, against the Chicago Bears in Week 14 with a 28-13 loss. During that span, the Lions also lost to the Cowboys (on a controversial call) and the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. However, they did their job against the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first two rounds of the playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship.
Why The Lions Will Make The Super Bowl
Mostly everyone has counted out the Lions this year. Most analysts picked the Rams to upset them in the Wild Card Round, but they did not let that happen. They have fully played as true underdogs all season because people still don't believe in them.
The Lions are huge underdogs on Sunday, but they deserve a little more credit in this game. They have a great chance to go on the road and defeat the #1 seed, thanks to their elite offense. Detroit has averaged the fifth-most points per game this season at 27.2, and few teams have had answers for an offense that features Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and even speedster Jameson Williams.
There's no doubt this 49ers defense is legit. But who's going to match up against all these Detroit playmakers? The 49ers haven't faced an offense like this all year, not even Baltimore or Dallas have the type of playmakers that the Lions have. This offense will be able to spread things out, and San Francisco might not have an answer for it.
This Lions team has scored at least 30 points 10 times this year, including in seven of the past 11 contests. If the 49ers get into a shootout with this offense, Detroit will come out victorious.
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