For the second time in three years, the Detroit Lions are back in the playoffs, despite the fact that many believed this to be a rebuilding year. Although they went 0-3 to end the season, playoffs were only an option due to Washington losing to the Giants at home.
The Lions went 9-7 and have earned the 6th seed which means they have to win 3 road games to get into the Super Bowl. They will play the Seahawks in the Wild Card round on Saturday night. The Lions are going in as 7.5 point underdogs against Seattle. Seattle is a 3rd seed with a 10-5-1 record this season.
The Lions are a long shot to win the Super Bowl coming in with a 1% chance. Although it’s not likely, Mathew Stafford is going to try his hardest after breaking the record for the youngest quarterback to reach 30,000 passing yards. The Lions also hold the record for the most comeback wins in a single season at 8. The defense also had 26 sacks on the season.
Even if the Lions do not make it far in the playoffs, the team announced Wednesday, January 4th, that Jim Caldwell will return as head coach next season. Many believed that this would be his last season in Detroit but after making the playoffs two out of the last three years combined with an overall record of 27-21 with the Lions, he proved why he should stay.
Next season the Lions will play 6 of this year’s playoffs teams in the regular season. The Lions are almost fully healthy for the first time this season with only one guy sitting in practice.
This is why the Lions have a really good shot of winning a playoff game for the first time since 1992 against the Dallas Cowboys. They won 38-6 at the Silverdome.
Fans are totally divided on how the team will react on Saturday night. “The Lions will fall apart the minute they get behind and it will all go downhill by then,” Conner Cherney ’17 said.
“They will get down early but behind Mathew Stafford’s arm and the astonishing defense the Lions will climb back for the win,” Conrad Chapoton’17 stated.
Tune into NBC at 8:15 this Saturday night to see what happens. Hopefully the Lions will roar and not bore…
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