The Lions had a great season. Nobody should dispute it.
Also not open for debate, however, is that the Lions flat-out blew it by frittering away a 17-point lead to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
The Lions are no longer playing with house money. Winning a division title and two playoff games were emotional and celebrated achievements in 2023. They won’t be in 2024.
The Lions have a solid, young nucleus. They should be improved next season.
But it doesn’t always go that way. The only other time the Lions were in this spot, after losing the NFC Championship Game more than three decades ago at Washington, they also had a blossoming, youthful core. They made the playoffs three of the next four years, but didn’t win another playoff game. It was subsequently viewed as a waste of talent, and the most notable reasons for the playoff failures took on epic proportions.
Sterling Sharpe being all alone in the end zone, the great Barry Sanders being held to minus a yard rushing, both vs. the Packers, and the Lions, as 3-point favorites being down 51-7 early in the third quarter at Philadelphia, resonated far more than the initial glow from 1991.
Yet, disappointment like that suffered by the Lions in San Francisco can cut one of two opposite ways.
It can either be an apex, such as with the 1990s Lions, or part of a process leading to greater heights.
Consider the most recent multi-championship runs in this town by the Pistons and Red Wings.
The Bad Boys version of the Pistons suffered several disappointments on the way to the top. The sour taste, “It’s a steal by Bird,” and the phantom foul called on Bill Laimbeer on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was essentially cleansed by back-to-back NBA titles. For the Red Wings, it was being swept by heavy underdog New Jersey, and the following year ousted by Colorado after one of the greatest NHL regular seasons ever. It’s not obsessed about because of the four Stanley Cup championships they captured during the ensuing 11 seasons.
The heartbreaks were part of a means to an end, not a conclusion.
The Lions not only can survive despite what happened in San Francisco, they can thrive.
It’s all in how they react.
My best guess: They will thrive.
Replacing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will be difficult. However, year-to-year improvement is a reasonable expectation from the vast majority of key components on the Lions’ roster. And the Lions have plenty of draft capital and salary cap flexibility to continue upgrading the team.
Sunday’s loss doesn’t have to be a curse. It can be a blessing, if the Lions learn from their second half mistakes.
The Lions have the pieces to be a perennial Super Bowl contender.
If they get there, and win it, the devastation of Sunday’s defeat will only make it that much sweeter.