UNITED STATES—Sports, it is the one thing that unites so many of us in this country, but at the same time for a sports fan a loss can be so devastating it is hard to fathom. For the Detroit Lions they had been playing some of their best football in decades for the 2023/2024 season. I mean this team was proof that you can turn an organization around with the right pieces in play.
Last season was an improvement, no playoff run, but damn impressive still and they proved the Lions are a football team full of grit. Yes, that is a saying that anyone who is a native of the city of Detroit, uses quite often to describe people and the city that tends to receive more negative play, yeah, we’re looking at you Stephen A. Smith, and so many people who have NEVER actually visited the region. What you think you know and what you actually know are two different things.
With that said, the team delivered an epic 12-5 regular season. They hosted two playoff games and won their first NFC Championship North Division in 30 years, followed by two playoff wins with a potential third and a first-time trip to the Super Bowl on the horizon in a game against the SF 49ers.
Look, when I say the people of Detroit had a fervor and frenetic energy that couldn’t be described with words, I mean just that. It was something you had to see in order to believe it. So Sunday, January 28 people who were fans of the Detroit Lions were glued to the TV screen watching a game that was way more exciting than the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. Congrats to the Chiefs, but c’mon already I’m ready to see another team claim the AFC Championship, which is why the NFL needs to switch things up more regarding who various teams play. If you have the same thing over and over, you’re going to see the same result over and over.
The Lions came in as an underdog against the San Francisco 49ers, and they had plenty to prove and let’s just say this, the Lions fumbled that victory. I can say that as a native Detroiter. They had that game in the palm of their hands. Just look at the first half; they blew the 49ers out of the water. The Lions were clicking on all cylinders so much to the point they had a 24 to 7 lead going into halftime. They 49ers were not playing well, not at all. However, they regrouped and came out in the third quarter and in less than eight minutes eliminated that deficit.
It was brutal to watch it unfold. It was like the Lions were a completely different team and the problem were mistakes. The 49ers capitalized on mistakes that the Lions made, a fumble leading to an interception, another wild circumstance of events from a possible interception leading the 49ers within inches of the touchdown and then missed catches. The Lions just failed to catch balls and convert on fourth downs that could have ABSOLUTELY changed the course of this game.
I will admit there were opportunities for field goals that should have been taken, period. If you have an opportunity to put points on the board you do it because it could have easily put the Lions up by three points on more than one occasion, making the game more exciting. I mean the final minutes of the game were still intriguing, but we could have seen an overtime game that would have been riveting as well.
However, the loss stings like hell because it feels like the Lions let that game slip out of their hands. It could have been a victory that would have turned the city of Detroit upside down. Right now I am mourning, but I will get over the loss, but damn it is brutal and your day goes from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but that is how sports works.
You have wins and you have losses, the wins are great when they occur, but when you lose it stings to the core lingering a lot longer than you hoped for.
Written By Davy Jones
