GREEN BAY, Wisc. – For the third time in the last seven seasons, the Lions will finish their regular season with a trip to Green Bay on Sunday. If the last two meetings are any indication, these NFC North rivals are primed to make history once again in Lambeau Field.
At least, the Lions hope so.
Lambeau Field has been unkind to the Lions in recent history, as they carry a 22-year losing streak into the 2014 matchup. How much has the world changed since Detroit's 21-17 win in Green Bay on Dec. 15, 1991? Well, the last time the Lions beat the Packers on the road, Google didn't exist. Neither did Harry Potter. The first PlayStation and Xbox consoles weren't released until several years later, and now there are four versions of each.
But in each of the last two Week 17 meetings in the Frozen Tundra, the Lions made history during a pair of losses.
In 2008, the Lions fell 31-21 to the Packers to complete perhaps the worst season in professional sports history: no wins and 16 losses. In that year, the Lions lost by an average score of roughly 32-17. To date, Detroit is the only team to finish 0-16 in the NFL.
Incredibly, Detroit returned to Green Bay just three years later to finish off a 10-6 season that helped them break a 20-year playoff draught. In that game, backup quarterback Matt Flynn set franchise records by leading the Packers with six touchdowns and 480 yards passing. During the following offseason, the Seattle Seahawks signed Flynn to a $26 million contract solely based on that performance.
Yes, the Lions have made some remarkable history in Green Bay.
But Sunday, the team is hoping to put those struggles in the past and pave the way for a potential deep run in the postseason. They could do so with a win in Green Bay that would bury 22 years of losing, 22 years without a division title, and 22 years without earning a playoff bye.
If the Lions win Sunday, they'll not only win the NFC North for the first time in franchise history, they'll also position themselves as real, legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
It sounds strange to put the Lions in a Super Bowl conversation, especially after a season in which they earned only one decisive win over a winning team. But the landscape suggests that earning a No. 2 seed would put Detroit in the conversation.
Obviously, the Lions would benefit from sitting out the first round. Avoiding a road playoff game in early January would give the Lions two weeks to prepare for a powerhouse matchup on their own turf. As a result, the Lions wouldn't even have to step foot on the field until the NFC conference semi finals, which would be played in Ford Field.
The Lions would likely be favored in any game at Ford Field, as they posted a 7-1 home record this season and would have been undefeated had former kicker Alex Henery not missed all three of his field goal attempts against Buffalo. Since their winless season in 2008, the Lions are 24-24 at home and 15-32 on the road, including one playoff loss. At home, Detroit can beat anybody. But on the road, playoff teams have their way with the Lions.
If they held serve at home in the second round, the Lions would travel to Seattle or Arizona for the final NFC battle or host the conference championship game in Detroit. In other words, Jim Caldwell's team would be just one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.
Detroit is a heavy underdog Sunday in Green Bay, as the Packers have been one of the most impressive teams in the country since Week 3. But the Lions have been competitive in Lambeau throughout the past decade, losing by one possession in six of the 10 meetings and an average margin of 6.5 since 2010.
Sunday's game will be an uphill battle, but if the Lions can find a way to upset the defending division champs, it will lay the groundwork for a very special January in Detroit.
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