The Detroit Lions have become the team to watch in the 2024 NFL season. After years of hard work, Dan Campbell and Jared Goff are finally giving people in the Motor City reasons to believe with a long-awaited Super Bowl trip.
However, the head coach believes the playoffs may have come a bit sooner for his team. Therefore, Campbell has firmly stated to Goff and every single one of his players that the upcoming games should be treated as postseason battles.
“We’re in playoff football right now,” Campbell said, before warning the rest of the NFL that December will prepare the Lions for the postseason. “That’s where we’re at. We’re in December, and our schedule says that. We play tough opponent after tough opponent, we’ve got another one, we’ve got plenty of them coming up. This is the type of stuff that you live for. And it’s also the stuff that gets you ready for the tournament.”
A challenging schedule for Campbell, Goff’s Lions ahead of NFL playoffs
Campbell has a fair point. Coming up next for the Lions is a Thursday Night Football showdown against none other than division rivals Green Bay Packers, who are putting up a fight in the NFC North with a 9-3 record.
The following week, Detroit will host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, who are chasing the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 10-2 record, which already saw Sean McDermott’s side clinch the AFC East title.
That game will be followed by a trip to the Windy City to face NFC North rivals Chicago Bears, with a road game against the San Francisco 49ers scheduled for the following week.
In the 2024 NFL regular season finale, the Lions will play another division game. This time, it will be against the Minnesota Vikings, who are currently 10-2. Therefore, Campbell has reasons to see December as a playoff month for his team.
Campbell, Goff’s Lions better than the defending Super Bowl champs in 2024?
The Lions are currently the best team in the NFL alongside the Kansas City Chiefs with an 11-1 record. Campbell’s men, however, are widely seen as the better team when comparing their performances to those of the defending Super Bowl champions.
With an explosive offense led by Goff at quarterback, Detroit is riding on an impressive 10-game winning run, the longest active streak in the NFL. The Lions haven’t lost since Week 2, when they fell 16-20 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will they keep up to make a deep playoff run?