Previously established as the Portsmouth Spartans of Portsmouth in 1929, the Detroit Lions team relocated to Detroit in 1934. This move came as a huge blessing for them, as they won the NFL championship just one year later in 1935. Including the first one, they also won another three NFL championships all prior to the Super Bowl era.
Yet, just like the NFL title, the Lions team’s luck in winning the NFC North was likewise frozen in time since the ’90s’. However, the general manager of the team appears to be considerably more optimistic about taking home the NFC North championship this year.
When did the Lions last win the NFC North? Explained
Although the Lions did not have to wait long for their NFC title, the Detroit club had to wait a very long time before being crowned the NFC Central Division champion in 1983, which ended their long championship drought. Following that, the Lions squad swiftly emerged as the divisional champion, taking home the crowns in 1991 and 1993.
After the Lions’ third and last divisional win in 1993, despite numerous attempts, the team was unable to crown them the division’s hero. It had five clubs at the time and was known as the NFC Central. Nevertheless, they were 5-1 in division games last season and narrowly missed the playoffs which ignited the team to grasp the title this season.
Jeffri Chadiha, a senior columnist for NFL.com, predicted them to be the champion this season after seeing their training camp.
“The Lions are the team to beat. I mean, that’s apparent that they’ve got the momentum, they’ve got the right core. They’ve had success down the stretch. So, I like them. But I think it’s going to be a lot more of a dogfight than people think.”
Last season, the Lions team demonstrated an incredible recovery, going 1-6 to start the season before winning eight of their final ten games.
Lions GM Brad Holmes claims to have “very high” confidence in winning the NFC North title
With the guidance of Jared Goff, the Lions’ undisputed No. 1 quarterback, and their 9-8 regular-season record, the Detroit squad is expecting to break a three-decade division title drought.
The Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes is reportedly committed to maintaining “very high” expectations for the team to win the NFC North this year. Holmes, who is about to begin his third season in the part, believes that they were unaware of the secret of the success throughout the past seasons. But the GM insisted that they had finally received their medication.
“I do think that we took our medicine in the past couple years. Me and [Lions coach] Dan [Campbell] talk about it all the time. We’ve coached the Senior Bowl; we had to do ‘Hard Knocks.’ We’ve done all that.”
Holmes acknowledged their failure throughout these seasons, but he believes they shouldn’t let it make them give up on themselves. The general manager of the team declared that they intend for this season to be another remarkable one for them, and they intend for it to be by building a strong and powerful roster.
“We’ve gone through a lot of darkness to get to this point, but that’s where the grit comes in place in terms of just not really wavering and put your head down or get discouraged, and we just kind of put the focus in building the best roster that we can and really getting the best football players,” he added.
On September 7 at 8:20 p.m., the Lions will play a road game against the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. How the club can live up to their lofty expectations and end their title streak remains to be seen.
