This is what Dan Campbell came here to do, to turn the Lions into winners. They won three games in his first season and nine in his second, capped off by a game the Same Old Lions would have lost.
"I don't want to hear that anymore, the Same Old Lions," Campbell said after his team went into Lambeau Field in the Sunday night spotlight and slayed
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. "That's what all this is about. There's so many things and it all comes with winning, but yeah, man, I wanted to be part of building a brand new brand."
Needing to beat their perennial punching bag Sunday to make the playoffs, the Packers look shellshocked to lose. (Rodgers might have been shell-shocked right into retirement.) The Lions looked like they expected to win. They played fearless football in the second half and wound up kneeling on the ball to run out the clock.
The Lions turned a 1-6 start into their first winning season in five years, fueled by a 5-1 record in the division. They missed the playoffs by a hair, which is probably a good thing for the rest of the NFC. Detroit would have been dangerous. By closing the season with a flourish, the Lions announced themselves as a threat in 2023.
"But I also know, you want to do that, you really gotta get into the dance," said Campbell. "You gotta get into the tournament and then you gotta make some waves in the tournament, so that's the next step. We've improved every year. ... Next year is about, man, let's get in the dance and let's see what we can do when we get in there."
That's how they can snuff out the Same Old Lions for good, by making noise in the playoffs every year. They're not there yet. But with a maturing team led by a daring coach and a 'damn good GM' who's poised to bring in more talent this offseason, they're on the right track.
"I think we just showed a lot of people who we are," Jared Goff said Sunday night. "I think people know we're here, and hopefully here for a long time."
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