Emotionally, the Detroit Lions made progress by hiring head coach Dan Campbell.
He is a player’s coach and ensures that the team keeps on fighting even if they are not getting favorable results.
His entertaining press conference answers ranging from biting knee caps to revealing his preferred coffee made him a media darling.
Unfortunately, the numbers reveal that the team regressed last season.
The Lions went from 5-11 in 2020 to 3-13-1 in 2021, threatening to have another winless season.
Their Week 10 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers guaranteed that they wouldn’t go 0-17.
Finally, after almost a year, the Lions chalked up a win by edging the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Detroit finished its campaign on a high note, splitting their last six games.
But while they’ve had something to cheer for, the Lions are still one of the worst NFL teams at present.
Fewest playoff wins since the merger
Lions 1
Texans 4
Browns 5
Cardinals 6
Jaguars 7 pic.twitter.com/g0BXmV3I55— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 13, 2022
The NFL on CBS Twitter account showed that the team has won just one playoff game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
That victory came in the 1991 season when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round, 38-6.
Since then, the Lions have lost nine playoff games, including their NFC Championship Game against the Washington Redskins.
Three of those defeats happened during the Matthew Stafford–Calvin Johnson era.
No End In Sight For Detroit’s Woes
The Lions won four NFL Championships before the merger.
Since then, they’ve had more tears than cheers.
Fast forward to 2022, and the team has a decent offensive core with Jared Goff, D’Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown, T.J. Hockenson, Penei Sewell, and the newly-added D.J. Chark.
They also have Julian Okwara and Jeff Okudah on defense.
While their roster shows promise, only victories matter.
Therefore, Campbell and the Lions have much work to do to prove that they are for real.
Otherwise, their fans’ long-standing misery continues.
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