The Detroit Lions are accustomed to a wide range of setbacks. Being a fan of the team has not always been easy, from losing seasons and draft picks to missing the playoffs and suffering chronic ailments.
However, Lions supporters were not used to playoff disaster prior to Sunday; they are now.
The Lions held a 17-point lead at halftime in their NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, knowing 30 minutes stood between them and the organization’s first ever Super Bowl appearance.
However, in a shocking second-half performance, the Lions couldn’t stop the 49ers who produced a historic comeback – scoring in each of their possesions – to win 34-31 and advance to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.The guests’ and those back home in the Motor City’s dreams came to an end with the collapse and the ensuing loss.
It resembles having your heart torn out. “It’s challenging,” Detroit head coach Dan Campbell subsequently said to reporters. “At halftime, we didn’t start flipping around, like, ‘All right, we won.'”
“They are more knowledgeable. We discussed it. We anticipated a surge from them in the second half. We discussed it. We weren’t shocked when they began to exert pressure because we anticipated having to weather the storm in the second half. We were unable to respond in kind. We’ve also always had the ability to fight back. We simply weren’t able to succeed in this one.
For a team that has been so frequently linked to heartbreak and defeat, the 2023 campaign was a great joy.
The Lions finished the regular season with 12 wins, won the NFC North division for the first time, made it to the postseason for the first time in 32 years, and won two games in the postseason for the first time since 1957.
To put it briefly, this iteration of the Lions, under the dynamic and contagious leadership of Campbell, was banishing a lot of the team’s past demons.Although it felt like a distant goal, one of the NFL’s oldest teams’ failure to make it to the Super Bowl was a stain on the team’s legacy. But that goal became a reality with the Lions of 2023, and the club was just one victory away from creating history.
Furthermore, the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco got off to the best possible start.
Detroit had accumulated a 24-7 lead at the half. With 148 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns in the first two quarters, the Lions offensive line and rushing attack were in complete control of the contest.
Fans of Detroit started to have faith. After all, according to the NFL, teams leading by 17 points or more at the half in a conference championship game were 21-0.
But everything went wrong in the second half. The Lions offensive faltered, the 49ers offense started to click, and some of Campbell’s fourth down decisions didn’t work out as expected.In an effort to stretch drives for potential touchdowns, Campbell decided to forego field goal attempts on fourth down twice in the second half. However, Detroit was unable to convert on both occasions, and San Francisco regained possession.
Campbell doesn’t regret taking a chance on both instances, despite the outcome and the feelings that follow.
Campbell told reporters, “I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball.” “They were exhausting the clock.” They act in this manner. And I wanted to regain the initiative.
And I understand that it’s simple in retrospect. I understand that. However, I don’t regret the choices I made. And that is challenging. The fact that we failed to make it is difficult. The situation didn’t work out, but I don’t, I don’t. And I am aware that I will be under observation. That’s just part of the job, dude. However, things just didn’t work out.
The offense’s failure to produce more points added to the misery, and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs made a critical error that allowed the 49ers to regain possession of the ball.
San Francisco ultimately pulled off an incredible 17-point comeback to secure a spot in Super Bowl LVIII, where they will take on the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the NFL, the 17-point comeback is tied for the third-largest comeback in an NFL conference championship game.
Even though their season ended in the most tragic way possible, the remaining games could indicate that the previously struggling team’s fortunes are about to turn.
However, Campbell acknowledges the chance they had this season. “We might only have this one chance, I told those guys.” Do I believe that? No. Do I think that to be true? No, he replied. But I am aware of how difficult it is to get here. I know this because it will be twice as difficult to return to this position the following year as it was this one. That is the situation as it is.
“And we have no chance of coming back here once the offseason rolls around if we don’t have the same drive and effort, which is a whole other thing.”
