Winning Week 18 Can Bury the Old Detroit Lions Once And For All
![From left, Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58), quarterback Jared Goff (16) and offensive tackle Taylor Decker (68), ready to take the field against San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024.](https://thenoise.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/USATSI_25088677_168402172_lowres-2000x1333.jpg)
Credit: Junfu Han via Imagn Images
“One must learn to be rich. To be poor, anyone can manage.” – Gustavo Fring, Breaking Bad Season 3, Episode 11.
Nothing can describe the moment for a sports franchise quite like a 15-year-old pop culture reference. But as corny as it sounds, the words of Meth Kingpin and Grindset Fascist Gustavo Fring ring true for this era of the Detroit Lions. Over the years, the Lions proved they can handle failure, and much like Los Pollos Hermanos has with chicken, Detroit has served it for years with their signature blend of herbs and spices.
The question isn’t whether Detroit can fail. It’s how they can handle success.
So far, so good, as we move into the 2025 portion of the 2024 NFL season. The Lions are 14-2 and have overcome injuries to DPOY Adrian Hutchinson and a lot more to get there. Even in a battered state, Vegas has them as a heavy favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, where they have the second-best odds to win outright.
But how long can they handle success? They weren’t able to handle a 24-7 halftime lead in the NFC Championship Game last year. And while they vanquished those specific demons on Monday night in San Francisco, it’s going to be hard to not see the pitfalls where the Lions could turn them back to the old me.
And if there ever was a time to either revert back into the Lions, or for Dan Campbell to drive the stake through their hearts, it isn’t in the playoffs. It isn’t in the Super Bowl. It’s this Sunday.
Because losing in the NFC Championship Game isn’t the most Old Lions outcome. The only outcomes that are less Lions-coded than that are, in order: Winning a Super Bowl, Losing a Super Bowl, and Winning an NFC Championship Game. It sucks, but that’s the history they’re working with.
No, the most Old Lions outcome is this: Detroit loses to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. Instead of a bye week and home date in the Divisional Round, they travel on the road for the Wild Card round. There’s a 50% chance they’ll face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who beat a much healthier Lions team at Ford Field in Week 2. The odds they’d face the LA Rams, whom they needed overtime to escape in Week 1, again, at Ford Field, are at 34%.
Losing in that situation? That’d be the most Old Lions outcome.
Especially since they’d already beaten the Vikings at US Bank Stadium earlier this season. While their records (14-2) are identical, the fact is that the Lions are supposed to be here, and the upstart Vikings aren’t. Detroit showed that they were the better team earlier this year, and they’re favored to win on Sunday. Winning Week 18 is simply taking care of business for a Super Bowl contender. It’s what Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs do. It’s what Tom Brady‘s New England Patriots did. That’s what all the great dynasties that came before them did.
But, they knew how to handle success.
While you might expect to see Lions fans bracing themselves for the most Lions outcome, it’s not something we’re seeing a lot of. That’s a testament to one guy. As great as the roster is, and the performances on the field have been, only Dan Campbell’s charisma and never-say-die attitude can get a fanbase scarred by decades of losing believing. He’s certainly got the players believing that they’re winners.
The final test for him (at least for this year) isn’t weeks away, though. It’s right now. He’s facing a great team, but it’s one he’s supposed to beat, at home, with all eyes on his team. The last time he did that was when the Buffalo Bills came to town and dealt him Detroit’s second loss of the season. If he can’t handle success this week, it’s going to be a much tougher job to prove he can do it in the playoffs, playing on the road.
It’s also the final test for Lions fans. Ford Field offers a big home field advantage, but that doesn’t work if fear of the Lions re-adopting old ways creeps in. If some early tough breaks shift a loud crowd into a quiet collection of doomers, that edge disappears.
But if they can take Week 18, they can ensure that edge stays with them throughout the playoffs, making all comers head to their building and win there to advance. But it’d also do more than that. It’d be the killing blow for Campbell to show the world that the Old Lions are really, finally dead, and that these past two seasons aren’t a blip on the radar, but the start of a new era. Everything. Every. Damned. Thing. is on the line on Sunday.
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