What a year it’s been for the Detroit Lions. After steadily improving in the last two years, Detroit took a massive leap this season. They took the NFC North by storm and captured the division title to make it back to the playoffs. However, as the season went on, expectations quickly shifted. Making it to the playoffs was no longer enough: they needed to win it all.
On Sunday, Detroit went one step closer to this dream. A tight win over the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams got the Lions their first playoff win since 1991. With that drought now over, a new team holds the dishonor of the longest playoff drought: the Miami Dolphins, per Joe Schad (graphic from CBS Sports).
For the longest time, the Lions were the poster child of playoff incompetence in the NFL. Sometimes, they never even made it to January. When they did, though, Detroit struggled to get out of the first round of the tournament. Even when they had Stafford on the team, Detroit never really saw success in the postseason.