The freeroll is over for the Detroit Lions, which is simultaneously both a testament to what head coach Dan Campbell has achieved in short time and a sudden jolt of — ouch, what’s that?
Pressure.
For a painfully long time, the only expectations the Lions carried were that they’d be dismally bad, a lingering prediction that almost always came to bear.
Heading into the 2023 campaign, Campbell has gotten what he wanted; namely to make Detroit a place where some optimism is in play behind a team that has gotten better and looks to still have margin for an upward shift.
The pressure, yes, it’s coming, but it has also been earned. After a frustrating 1-6 start last season the Lions went on a tear, winning eight of their final 10 games — bookended by a pair of triumphs of their long-held tormentors, the Green Bay Packers.
The neutrals liked the narrative, they’ve long liked Campbell’s brand of earnest energy and “football first” straightforwardness, and there was probably some latent feel-good stuff floating around following a summer appearance on Hard Knocks.
All that combined to make the Lions interesting rather than insipid, which is the kind of thing that gets you noticed when it comes to scheduling prime-time slots.
Bouncing off a campaign in which they appeared in prime time precisely zero weeks, now they are on the hook for four and were selected to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener on Sept. 7.
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“We’re beginning to get noticed,” Campbell told NFL Network. “We finished off the season a certain way. They are betting off that we won’t get our a– kicked (by the Chiefs).
“I do know there’s interest, we are an intriguing team. We did just enough to mess up early in the season to not get in (the postseason). When you start 1-6 it is hard to overcome that. We’ve got to get off to a fast start.”
Detroit is slated for at least 14 games on FOX, starting with its home opener against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 and highlighted by juicy matchups such as a trip to Baltimore in Week 7, plus a swath of NFC North grudge fests.
Three full decades have passed since the Lions won their division, but the oddsmakers have no time to quarrel with yesteryear, and have installed them as favorite to triumph in the tundra, at around +140.
With the Packers embarking on a new adventure behind Jordan Love, no one quite sure which direction the Minnesota Vikings are heading in and the Bears being, well, the Bears, the top billing looks well-founded.
“I think we look at that as a division where probably every team potentially could compete for that division championship and every one of those division games is going to be meaningful,” NFL VP of Broadcast Onnie Bose said on a media conference call arranged by the league. “Those are games that we’re going to put in important parts of the schedule throughout.”
Campbell and his group are beginning to find out that things have shifted a little in the months since they torpedoed Aaron Rodgers‘ hopes of getting into the postseason in what would turn out to be his final game in Green Bay.
There is scrutiny now and they must match it with performance. The whole concept of “eyes on the Lions” was borne out with the reaction to the Detroit draft class. The commentary was little more pointed than it might have been had Detroit not been a team tipped to go places.
It was felt, somewhat widely, that Jahmyr Gibbs was a reach at No. 12 overall, given the embedded skepticism surrounding running backs as high selections.
But the Lions didn’t pay much mind to the conviction of others, only their own. They took Brian Branch, considered the draft’s top safety but one who fell to day two. They locked down QB Hendon Hooker, who had been widely deliberated as a first-round selection before dropping into the third round. Linebacker Jack Campbell and tight end Sam LaPorta both came off the board a little earlier than some thought was warranted.
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If the Lions draft created some rumblings, their free-agency work was beyond reproach. Some serious moves were made to upgrade the secondary, notably in acquiring safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, plus safeties Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley.
Now Campbell will find out that there is a new kind of pressure. Jared Goff isn’t seen as one of the NFL’s best QBs but has improved and matured. There are solid players and a real swagger in place in Detroit.
Ever since the day Campbell was unveiled in 2021 — a rare occasion when you could find him in a suit and tie — he has wanted a team that effectively manages itself, with strong leaders who enforce best practices in terms of discipline and professionalism.
That leaves him and his staff to focus on the schematic and tactical piece, and it seems to be working. He feels he’s close to that dynamic now, and the Lions are in a welcome place, moving steadily in the right direction and not yet so good that they’re disliked by anyone other than their local rivals.
Campbell is on a push and this season is a different one for him, starting on the very first day, against the toughest opponent imaginable. He’s made the Lions matter. Now that he’s at that point, what can he do next?
