Getty Lions fans react during the season finale in 2022.
The Detroit Lions have a fanbase and team that is starved for playoff success, and that will only be more of the case now after the team watched one of their long-suffering counterparts score a big win.
On Saturday, January 15, the Cincinnati Bengals pulled out an impressive win over the Las Vegas Raiders 26-13 in the playoffs. A postseason win is impressive enough, but it gets even better for Cincinnati given it comes with the caveat that it ended a 30 year victory drought in the playoffs.
If there’s one team that knows a lot about such a drought, it’s the Lions. Ironically, Detroit was right behind the Bengals in terms of postseason futility until Saturday. Now, the Lions are leading the way in the NFL in terms of not being able to get it done in the playoffs. They have the league’s longest playoff win drought.
The #Lions (1991) now have the longest active playoff win drought in the NFL.
Fans were likely watching the game with a hopeful thought of what the future could be in Detroit. They hope for a similar turnaround as the Bengals have experienced.
Highlights of Lions Last Playoff Victory
So when was the last playoff win and what did it look like? The Lions took on the Dallas Cowboys in January of 1992, and managed to have a big day. Paced by wideout Willie Green, quarterback Erik Kramer, a huge game by the defense and Barry Sanders, Detroit rolled to a 38-6 win over the Cowboys. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the game:
Prior to that win, the Lions had not one a playoff game in 35 years since 1957, so the team has been one of the more cursed teams historically when it comes to finding success in the postseason. Since that win, it’s been another 30 years since a playoff win and counting, proving how history is repeating itself once again for the team.
Lions Have Frustrating Playoff History
No matter what the reason has been through the years, the Lions have been one of the more miserable teams historically when it comes to the playoffs. Detroit, as the tweet points out, hasn’t won since 1991. It’s not just 1991, however. Prior to that win, the Lions hadn’t won a playoff game since 1957. They had lost three times combined in the 1970s and 1980s. They’ve had plenty of misfortune in the playoffs as well, losing games in heartbreaking fashion and blowout fashion as well.
Detroit last appeared in the playoffs in 2018, but quickly bowed out, losing to the Seattle Seahawks in close fashion. They haven’t been consistent enough through the years at both making the playoffs and also winning when they do manage to get there.
With Dan Campbell taking over and trying to institute a culture flip, the goal is to get to be a team that not only makes the playoffs consistently, but is able to deliver big wins when they get there. That’s the case regardless of what has happened in the past.
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