The Hunt Report discusses why the Lions could be in good shape to turn around their franchise fortune after a clutch win.
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Amon-Ra St. Brown waives to Lions fans at Lambeau Field in 2023.
The Detroit Lions didn’t have much to play for on paper when they started Sunday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers, but that was only on paper.
Though the Lions had been eliminated from the playoffs by virtue of a wild win by the Seattle Seahawks in overtime over the Los Angeles Rams, there was absolutely no quit in Detroit as they attacked the challenge of Lambeau Field.
On a cold night where points were at a premium, the Lions managed to hang around, get enough turnovers and make just a few more clutch plays than Green Bay. After a few gritty conversions on third and fourth down on the final drive, the Lions bled the clock and salted away a stunning 20-16 upset win.
Aaron Rodgers typically delivers in situations where he can clinch a playoff birth. This time, the Lions turned him away with a gritty win on the road in a place where they have not found winning easy through the years.
While the Lions did not earn a playoff win, the victory felt nearly as satisfying as one for a starved franchise and fanbase. Green Bay has tormented the NFC North and particularly the Lions for years. To see the team able to go in and score a major upset was very satisfying, and may represent the most satisfying win the team has enjoyed in over a few decades.
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Beating the Packers with their playoff lives on the line is the kind of building-block victory that could go a long way to changing the narrative about the Lions for good. It doesn’t feel like a nice story, but merely a start of bigger and better things in the future.
The Lions won’t make the playoffs at 9-8, but they did the next best thing in keeping Rodgers and their arch-rivals home.
