Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has turned around the franchise in his four seasons leading the charge. Detroit’s win over the Los Angeles Rams last postseason was the team’s first playoff win since 1991.
The Lions have won four NFL championships in its history but only three playoff wins in the Super Bowl era (1966). They’ve reached the NFC Championship Game twice in franchise history.
Detroit Lions’ Lack of Playoff Success
The Lions’ first playoff appearance in the Super Bowl era was a 5-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 1970.
Their next playoff appearance wouldn’t be until 1982, when the team went 4-5 in a strike-shortened season and 16 of 28 teams made the postseason.
The following year, the Lions went 9-7 and won the NFC Central for a second straight postseason appearance. In a Divisional Round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit RB Billy Sims rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions held a 23-17 late lead, but a Joe Montana touchdown pass with 1:23 left led the 49ers to the win.
Detroit would not reach the postseason again until 1991, when they defeated the Cowboys in the Divisional Round for the franchise’s first playoff win in the Super Bowl era. Quarterback Erik Kramer passed for 341 yards with three touchdowns, and Barry Sanders rushed for one score in the 38-6 win.
The next week, Detroit traveled to Washington for their first and only appearance in the NFC Championship Game. The Lions trailed 17-10 at halftime but ended up losing 41-10 to the eventual Super Bowl champion. Unfortunately, the Lions would not win another postseason game until this season.
Behind Sanders’ rushing game, Detroit wound up reaching the playoffs four more times in the 1990s. However, the Lions lost back-to-back close games against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round.
In 1993, in Detroit, Brett Favre’s 40-yard touchdown pass with 55 seconds left gave Green Bay the win. The next season, in Green Bay, the Lions had a chance for a late go-ahead touchdown but could not score after getting to the Packers’ 11-yard line.
The two losses to Green Bay would start an eight-game playoff losing streak that stretched from 1993 to 2016. Nevertheless, Detroit’s next playoff win came last season against the Rams — who moved to St. Louis and back to Los Angeles between Lions playoff wins.
Lions Have Won NFL Championships
Detroit has won four NFL championships, including three in the 1950s. The last championship was in 1957, nine seasons before the first Super Bowl.
Hall of Famer Dutch Clark, who had an interception, 70 rushing yards, and a touchdown, led the Lions to a win over the New York Giants in the 1935 NFL Championship.
From 1952 to 1957, Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne led the Lions to three NFL championships. Detroit also lost to the Cleveland Browns in the 1954 NFL Championship, ending their two-year run as champions.