The Detroit Lions looking for their first playoff victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night for the first time in 25 years. Their last playoff game was all the way back on January 2,1992 when they faced the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional round at home in the Pontiac SilverDome.
This game featured future NFL Hall of Famers from both teams, first with the Dallas Cowboys with quarterback Troy Aikman running back Emmitt Smith wide receiver Michael Irvin. For the Detroit Lions one of the greatest running backs in NFL history Barry Sanders also played in this game.
The Lions dominated this football game on offense with quarterback Erik Kramer completing the football 29 times on 38 attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Barry Sanders had 12 carries for 69 yards. The Lions' leading receiver Willie Green had 8 catches and 115 yards. The Lions had total of 421 yards on offense.
The Lions' defense played very well in only allowing six points against the high power Cowboys' offense. The Detroit Lions won this game 38-6 to win there first playoff game since 1957. The Lions moved onto the NFC Championship Game, one game away from playing in the Super Bowl against Washington Redskins. The Lions got embarrassed in this game, losing 45-10.
That would be the closest the Lions would ever be from appearing in the Super Bowl. Those Washington Redskins went on to win the Super Bowl XXVI and those Dallas Cowboys, after losing to the Lions in the divisional round, went onto to win the Super Bowl three times in the 1990's.
The Detroit Lions would go onto play in five playoff games in the 1990's and never win another game. That would also be Barry Sanders' last playoff win in his career.
So, now to fully explain the losing perception that fans associate with the Detroit Lions franchise, you have to first start in 1950's when the Detroit Lions were an NFL Dynasty, winning four NFL Championships in 1952, 1953, 1954,1957. It was all about to change when the Lions traded their star quarterback Bobby Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1958 and allegedly said after the trade that the "Lions would not win for the next 50 years." Do fans believe that is the sole reason for the Lions futility or is this somewhat a cursed franchise?
Another reason the Detroit Lions being a losing franchise in the NFL is the ownership of the Ford family. William Clay Ford Sr. purchase the franchise on November 22, 1963. In his time as owner the lions only had 14 winning seasons and 10 playoff appearances. The Detroit Lions are one of only three other teams to never appear in a Super Bowl.
The Lions fans have criticized the Ford family over the years for not building a winning franchise along with bad front office decisions that continue to hurt the franchise over and over again, like not being able to hire the right head coaches or being able to draft or trade for the best players.
As a theme you probably have noticed by now is that they lose a lot more than they win and, as a result of this, it might have had an impact on Barry Sanders' career being cut short. He had over 15,269 rushing yards, which is the third most rushing yards in NFL history. In a turn of events, Sanders announced his retirement on July 27,1999 right before the season started. He faxed a letter to Wichita Eagle, his hometown newspaper. The timing of this was very odd because he was still in very good health and still considered one of the best players in the game. He had also just signed an extension to his contract two years before that. Some fans were angry and very disappointed by his decision. To this day, not being on winning football teams or surrounded by better talent is a major factor in Barry Sanders' retirement.
If you don't think it gets worse, it does. When the Detroit Lions hired Matt Millen as president and CEO in 2001 and he had never worked in an NFL front office and was still hired by William Clay Ford Sr. His lack of experience and ability to draft or bring in players cost the Lions with losing year after year and really becoming the laughing stock of the NFL.
Matt Millen's career record was 31-81 and fans were calling for him to be fired. After being long overdue after a 0-3 start to the 2008 season, he was officially fired and the Detroit Lions would finish that Season 0-16. The only other team to finish win-less was an expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that went 0-14 in 1976. You may ask how can you get any better. Well, the Lions were able to draft a player named Calvin Johnson, a star wide receiver in 2007. He would put up a lot of big numbers including catches per game along with receiving yards. He earned the nickname Megatron while doing so.
A few years after Johnson was drafted, the Detroit Lions have desperately needed that franchise quarterback that would win games and lead the team. So in 2009 Matthew Stafford was drafted. In his early years, he was unable to stay healthy and play on a consistent basis and he did not make the playoffs in his first two seasons. He wouldn't play a full season of 16 games until 2011, where he made the playoffs for the first time in his career and put up mind-blowing numbers like 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, and was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. His career has had its ups and downs, but wins were hard to come by for the next two seasons after a head coaching changing at the end of the 2013 season when the Lions hired Jim Caldwell. In his first year, the Lions posted a record of 11-5 and made the playoffs once again but lost the playoff game.
William Ford Sr.'s wife, Martha, took ownership of the team when he passed away on March 9, 2014. The 2015 season started off very bad with a 1-7 record. Martha Ford decided that there needed to be a change and that the Lions would fire General Manager Martin Meyhew and team President Tom Lewand. Some fresh air came to the Lions with these changes, and they finished that season 7-9.
Calvin Johnson decided to retire from the Lions in 2015, finishing his career with 11,619 yards of receiving. Johnson never won a playoff game with the Lions and he had the same troubles as Sanders: never having consistent winning teams behind them. Finally, with these 2016 Detroit Lions, they decided to hire Bob Quinn as the new general manager. He came from the New England Patriots, who have been a very successful franchise in the NFL. The Lions, and Stafford as well, had a record 8 comeback victories and finished the season 9-7, but lost three games going into the playoffs. 3
There has always been a black cloud over this franchise but could this be the year they win it all. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series after waiting 108 years. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship to break the curse of Cleveland of not winning a professional championship in the city since 1964. Why not us let us change the way the Lions are seen? This is year they can finally win a playoff game.
