Detroit Lions 2024 Superbowl...for real???

I think is the first time since 1991 that the Detroit Lions (American) football team of the National Football League have started with a 4-1 record. Great early record for any given team most seasons. 12 more weeks until we know for sure that the Lions are playoff-bound. Safe bet they are. What are some broader possibilities with real potential, though? Some experts rank Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers the best quarterback in the league. Rightfully so, and with a fiery roster to boot, particularly with running back Christian McCaffrey to help. They could be your NFC Superbowl Contenders as well as anybody going into 2024. They are currently undefeated this season. Some of the other experts such as PFF rank Lions QB Jared Goff at the top of the list. This team unfortunately lost to the Seahawks this season. They won't go undefeated. But how much better are they at this point? In 2021 and 2022, the Lions lost more games than they won, typical circumstances for sports observers to see, with years of mostly bad seasonal records. The last time the Detroit Lions made the playoffs was 2016. The last time the Carolina Panthers, my team, went to the playoffs was 2017. The last good season we had. We know they're now the talk of the town for some of the worst reasons possible. It's not been easy to stick with the Panthers since the end of 2018 and the 2019 season, let me tell you. But it looks more and more like many of the setbacks the Lions had the past two years are growing pains at this point. They could play some valiantly high-scoring games, a good deal of which they still lost, but showed that they were packing more firepower than what was commonly witnessed or foretold. I paid attention to it from time to time, and I was surprised, regardless of what they lost or won. A loss for the Lions for the past generation usually seemed to culminate in median or blowout losses, with much of the blame put on anyone from the roster to the highest echelon of team management. Again, looking at you 2020s Carolina Panthers.

But besides winning and stellar quarterback rankings, what else do the Detroit Lions have on their side this season? Coach Dan Campbell is definitely taking the team in the right direction. Him and Jared Goff could become the next Brady-Bellichick, with enough time and playing the cards right. We would all love to see it, factoring out Cheeseheads and Vikings fans. But really, there's another factor that some news sources have acknowledged with the team that feels overlooked and shouldn't be. As with many teams, injuries take a toll on players every year on football season, and some of them may have to take an indefinite amount of time off the field. Days, weeks, months, sometimes an entire unfortunate remainder of season. And the Detroit Lions have had some of those. Injuries are not good, no. But even with injuries where players have had take a week or two out of the game, the Lions have concocted ways to steal the show, anyway. It's almost been a revolving door. Tight-end Sam LaPorta put up a great performance last weekend but he's out tomorrow. Another tight end, Jake Mitchell, has also been on the mend. On the other hand, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is now back in the mix of active players. 7 players are out with maybe 2 questionable leading up to the anticipated Buccaneers game in Tampa this weekend. I think the Lions will for the sixth week straight play an extremely good game regardless of their current absences. In weeks to come with a roster that is near or 100% game ready health-wise, who knows what they will be like at that point? Just going to say for the record a meme has circulated around Facebook of a 2018 high school (?) graduate predicting the Lions winning the 2024 Super Bowl. Seems it has a real chance of panning out, much like my exact prediction of the Carolina Panthers beating the Detroit Lions in 2017 with an exact score of 27-24. A week after your team goes 2-0 against the Brady-Bellichick Patriots, there's always a risk of overt cockiness. Lol.



https://www.mlive.com/lions/2023/10/lions-sam-laporta-dealing-with-calf-injury-amon-ra-st-brown-logs-full-practice.html

The point is, this is a Detroit Lions team that has adapted very well at sticking to their guns with all the available hands on deck, hither and thither injury reports. Many teams can have just as a good start and fall off, if they lose the wrong superstar player or several at once.

All the Lions have to do to reach their first Superbowl this season is keep winning, and prove what they can do against the Eagles, Cowboys, and Buccaneers in the playoffs. Will it come easy for them? Probably not. Are they capable of reaching it? That's a resounding yes from me. Go Lions!

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