Same Old Lions is something Detroit fans know well. For far too long, it was an unfortunate reality of being a Lions fan. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, often in excruciating fashion, was one hallmark of SOL. Many years, they weren’t even good enough to get to that point.
These are not the SOL. That unsavory myth was blown away by beating the defending champs in their house on a night when they unveiled their latest Super Bowl banner.
Dan Campbell’s Lions played spoiler on national television in the featured game for the first week of NFL football. They did it on the road against a team with a legendary quarterback and facing long odds and considerable national skepticism.
Oh yeah, they did the same thing in their very last game. You know, going into Green Bay in Week 18 and ending Aaron Rodgers’ final season with the Packers.
Stringing those consequential victories together over the span of an offseason where the hype has reached fever pitch — that’s the antithesis of SOL.
It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t comfortable. It certainly wasn’t looking good when Patrick Mahomes got the ball back with two minutes to go, needing only a field goal to win. Lions fans have seen that movie too many times.
Not this time. Not these Lions. The 21-20 win over the Chiefs should be the convincing the lionized fans need to finally buy in. These Lions are ready for prime time.