The Lions were an officiating gaffe away from securing the signature win of their season last week, on the road, in primetime, against one of the best teams in the NFC. Fortunately, the real season is about to start.
And would anybody want to face the Lions in the playoffs?
"I don’t care if they play the game in the Arctic Circle, they are going to be hard to beat," NFL insider Peter King said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "This is a really good team that Brad Holmes has assembled and that Dan Campbell is coaching. I think they’re one of the five most dangerous teams in football right now and when you get into the playoffs, it’s who’s hot and who plays the best in the biggest games."
The Lions are also quarterbacked by Jared Goff, who's played in the biggest game of them all. Goff wasn't at his best last week in Detroit's 20-19 loss in Dallas, but he's having another strong season, third in the NFL in yards, fourth in touchdowns and eighth in passer rating. Goff's mettle represents that of the Lions, who get back up (and take a kneecap) as soon as they're knocked down -- just as Campbell promised. They haven't lost back-to-back games since October of last season.
"We know we’re a great team," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "We’ve got 11 wins, we’ve won the North and have a chance to do some big things this year. We know what we can do."
And when did they know this?
"We went into Green Bay last year and won that game, we went into Kansas City first game this year and won that game. Probably after that is when we figured we could go into any environment and win," said Goff. "Again, we know what our team is built on. We’ve got 11 wins and we aren’t surprised by it. We know how good we are and know we can play with anybody."
This is especially true on offense, especially with a healthy line. Entering the final week of the season, the Lions rank third in the NFL in passing and fourth in rushing. But last week's performance is evidence that the offense can still "be a lot better," says Goff. Specifically in regard to "communication and being on the same page."
"We do a lot of things on offense, but we can handle it. It’s not like we haven’t handled it before," said Goff. "Sometimes we have some errors, and it starts with me getting the play in and communicated, making sure that everybody knows what they’re doing and going from there."
For Goff, "that Denver game was representative of when we are clicking on all cylinders." That was when the Lions hung 42 points -- and Goff hung five touchdowns -- on one of the hottest defenses in the NFL. Once the offense got rolling that night, it couldn't be stopped. That's the spark the Lions will try to catch in Sunday's season finale against the Vikings, with their first home playoff game in 30 years waiting on the other side.
"You want to play well, play clean and have some good momentum going into the playoffs, and getting a W at home would be part of that momentum," said Goff. "You want to get hot in the playoffs. You’re going to have to win four in a row to win the Super Bowl, so finding a way to get hot."
Sunday is their last chance to stoke the fire before the real games begin.