The Lions have long united Detroit. Now they're Uniting the States.
With four NFL teams standing, America seems to stand with Dan Campbell and the Lions. Detroit's football team has risen like the city after decades of defeat to come within a game of its first-ever trip to the Super Bowl. For fans without a horse in the race -- and perhaps those in Chicago, Minnesota and Green Bay -- the Lions have become an adopted favorite.
One study ahead of the NFL's divisional round, when eight teams remained in the playoffs, indicated that more than half of the U.S. was backing the Lions, including almost every state east of the Mississippi River. With the Bucs, Bills, Packers and Texans now eliminated, Lions fever figures to sweep even more of the nation.
The Lions have also generated huge television numbers. Their wild-card win over Matthew Stafford and the Rams drew the biggest primetime ratings of any TV event since last season's Super Bowl and their win over the Bucs last week was NBC's most-watched divisional-round game in 30 years.
Which must feel pretty good for a team that's been down and out for most of its existence and just last season wasn't deemed worthy of a single primetime game when the NFL released its schedule.
"I guess we've made it since we're in the Wall Street Journal, right?" Campbell quipped on Tuesday.
They're also on the back page of the New York Post.
Victories are vindication for Campbell, who was mocked as a kneecap-biting meathead when he was introduced as head coach of the Lions three years ago and who was on the public chopping block when his team was 1-6 last season and 4-19-1 across the first 23 games of his tenure. The Lions are 22-7 since including the playoffs, the third most wins in the NFL. Only the Chiefs and the 49ers have better records over this stretch.
Campbell, who grew up in Texas when the Cowboys were America's Team, was asked on Tuesday about the Lions taking that mantle.
"All we care about is playing good football, playing for each other," Campbell said on 97.1 The Ticket. "We love where the city of Detroit has been. Man, they’ve had our back and it’s been good to be home. What a special moment all of this has been, but it’s not over. So look, if other people are enjoying watching us play, of course we’re all over that. You’re welcome — as long as you weren’t bashing us early.”
Jared Goff was bashed toward the end of his time with the Rams and took a beating when he was winless in his first 10 games in Detroit. He has 50 more touchdowns than interceptions and a passer rating of 99.7 in 40 games since, including two terrific performances in the playoffs. He's the only quarterback to win multiple playoff games for the Lions in the Super Bowl era.
Goff's story has resonated nationally, too, a former first overall pick who was left for dead by a hotshot coach in LA only to resurrect his career in a reborn American city. His toughness has endeared him to an industrial town. Asked what it is about the Lions that seems to appeal to the country, Goff said, "I think we work hard, and I think we have a lot of guys who have been doubted for quite some time and are starting to get a national stage to show what they can do."
"The Lions have historically not been on national television and we’ve had some games this year where we have been and played well and won those games, and I think that’s probably part of it," Goff said on 97.1 The Ticket. "But we focus on what we can do internally and just keep trying to win games."
Indeed, the Lions kicked off the NFL season in primetime by beating the defending Super Bowl champs at Arrowhead, after they'd turned out the lights on Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field in last season's finale. They're 5-1 in primetime games this season including the playoffs, the only blemish being their ref-stained loss to the Cowboys last month. With the country watching, the Lions have shined.
When they take the field Sunday night in San Fran, the rest of America will be pulling for Detroit.
"We’ve got such great camaraderie and teamwork and love for each other," said Goff. "To be in the final four now and have one more game to get to our ultimate mission of winning the Super Bowl is pretty exciting."