Gamble Online Michigan

NFL: Lions Seeking to Rewrite History in Playoffs

darren cooper
By:
Darren Cooper
02/01/2024/
NFL
Detroit Lions Sport News

Highlights

  • The Lions will host a Wild Card game against an opponent to be determined the weekend of Jan. 14-15. It will be the first Lions playoff game at Ford Field.
  • Detroit won the NFC North Division for the first time in 2023.
  • The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991 and own the longest playoff losing streak in NFL history. They’re 2-7 against the spread in those nine playoff games.

Other fan bases think they got it bad.

The Lions remain one of four NFL franchises to never appear in a Super Bowl. They haven’t won a playoff game in 33 years, that’s nine in a row. They haven’t won a road playoff game since 1957.

Coach Dan Campbell and the Lions will try to end all of these streaks in two weeks when they host a playoff game against another NFC rival at Ford Field. It will be one of the biggest days ever for Michigan sports betting fans. Big sportsbooks already have Super Bowl odds posted. The Lions are the eighth pick at the Golden Nugget at +2000 and +2200 to win Super Bowl LVIII at FanDuel.

Let’s look back at the Lions last nine playoff appearances, and relive the moments one more time before a new – happy - chapter is written.

1992 NFC Championship – Washington 41-10 

Washington was 14-point favorites at home and outscored Detroit 24-0 in the second half. Detroit turned the ball over three times and Barry Sanders was held to 44 yards. Washington went on to win the Super Bowl.

1993 Wild Card – Packers 28-24 

This is the one that stings. The Lions were 1.5-point favorites. Barry ran for 169 yards, but George Teague had a 101-yard interception return and Brett Favre threw a TD pass near the end for the win. This is the last Lions home playoff game.

1994 Wild Card – Packers 16-12 

The weather wasn’t that bad in Green Bay, but the Lions couldn’t get untracked. Sanders had 13 carries for minus 1 yards. Favre did it again with 262 yards. At least the Lions covered the 4.5-point spread.

1995 Wild Card – Eagles 58-37 

The Lions were the hot team, having won seven in a row and were favored on the road by three, then got smacked. It was 51-7 in the third quarter. The Lions turned the ball over six times.

1997 Wild Card – Bucs 20-10 

Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell just didn’t have it. Bucs running back Mike Alstott ran for a touchdown. Tampa was three-point favorites.

1999 Wild Card – Washington 27-13

This was the last hurrah for the Lions in that era, but Washington ran away with it. It was 27-0 at half. Lion QBs were sacked five times.

2011 Wild Card – Saints 45-28

Stafford made his playoff debut in the Caesars Superdome and the Lions led at halftime over the Saints who were 10.5-point favorites. But the Saints dominated the second half. Drew Brees threw for 466 yards.

2015 Wild Card – Dallas 24-20

Dallas was 6.5-point favorites. Stafford threw a pick and fumbled twice. Detroit led 20-7, but Tony Romo threw a late TD pass.

2017 Wild Card – Seattle 26-6

It was 10-6 going into the fourth, but Thomas Rawls (who ran for 161 yards for Seattle and the Legion of Boom defense didn’t let the Lions inside the 33-yard line.

darren cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.