The Detroit Lions are one of the iconic teams in the NFL, but they have long been associated with failure.
For a team so steeped in history, you would expect them to have won playoff games, conference championships, and even lifted Lombardi Trophies. But success is not often connected with the Motor City’s NFL team.
So, how many Super Bowls have the Lions won?
Detroit Lions Super Bowl Appearances
The Lions have never won or reached a Super Bowl. They are one of 12 teams to have never won a Super Bowl and one of four teams to have never played in one.
The only national success the Lions can boast about came before the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970. They won the then NFL Championship on four occasions in 1935, 1952, 1953, and 1957.
MORE: List of Super Bowl Winners by Year
The Lions’ franchise has long been synonymous with disappointment — the drought for Detroit’s last playoff win stretches back decades. Lions fans are loyal and have had to become accustomed to losing playoff games.
The last time the Lions won a playoff game was in 1991, when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round. In fact, the Lions have just one win in the playoffs since the 1970 merger.
Detroit last made the playoffs in 2016, and the team lost eight straight playoff games in the Wild Card round.
What Are the Lions’ Chances in 2023
Detroit is seen as a real Super Bowl contender in 2023 and has an outside shot to be the top seed in the NFC. In fact, they have been at the top end of the NFC standings for most of the season.
Given the Lions’ abysmal postseason record, they had become an ongoing joke for football fans. But, with the hiring of Dan Campbell as head coach in 2021, the franchise has been able to build year after year and is now considered a legitimate contender to win the “Big Game.”
In the Lions win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10, former Cowboys QB Tony Romo said on the broadcast, “This is a formidable team who can win a Super Bowl.”
Running back David Montgomery spoke about the culture that Campbell has built after a Week 11 win over the Chicago Bears, saying, “You get a lot of guys that have been told ‘no’ their whole life. Been told they’ve never been good enough. People look at this city for a while as not taken seriously, and now we’re getting to be serious.”
Campbell has built this team in his own image, and if the Lions are to get a prized playoff victory, 2023 could be the year.
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