For the first time in decades, the Detroit Lions’ stated goals do not come with a side joke.
Following their first division triumph in 30 years, Lions general manager Brad Holmes was questioned Thursday about his expectations for 2024.
“For this season?” “Win the Super Bowl,” he told the Associated Press.
Winning the Super Bowl is every team’s aim. The ultimate prize must be the goal in a physically and mentally demanding work. However, most clubs face a slim chance of winning the Lombardi Trophy in February.
After generations of Lions teams falling short of expectations, Detroit now has a team that is a viable Super Bowl contender. Many believe they will win the division again, and they are clearly one of the NFC’s elite teams.
The Detroit Lions are one of four teams who have never played in a Super Bowl, along with the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. Last year, Detroit imploded in the NFC Championship game, falling a half-game short of the Super Bowl after blowing a 17-point third-quarter lead against San Francisco 34-31.
However, the breakthrough year was the first time the Lions had gone to the conference title game by winning two playoff games in a single postseason since capturing the NFL championship in 1957.
Owner Sheila Ford Hamp’s hiring of Holmes and coach Dan Campbell in 2021 has transformed the organization from a laughingstock to one of the best-built rosters in the NFL.
“We’ve kept our approach and our process very consistent in terms of how we build it, the opportunities that we provide players, and that’s what gives us confidence,” Holmes told the audience. “We’ve been saying it since Day 1, we want to get better every single year and we’ve done that, and we plan to continue to do that.”
Detroit faces a new challenge: meeting sky-high expectations. The Same Ol’ Lions have never had to cope with this issue.
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