They win the inaugural division title since 1993, ending a long gap.
When the Detroit Lions had won the division title, Jared Goff hadn’t even been born yet. But on Sunday, when the Lions won their first division title since 1993, the experienced quarterback (born in 1994) was at the center of their celebrations.
Detroit won its first division title in 30 years with a 30–24 win in the Minnesota Vikings. The Browns (1989) had been without a division title for the longest time in NFL history.
“That’s cool. Goff said, “It’s really cool.” It felt like we made something that no other team had done in 30 years, when we thought about it more deeply.
This 2023 team broke who streak, and we promise them a final game at home. We do have work to do the week after that and the week after that, though, so we’ll see where that leads us.
Goff threw for 257 yards and a touchdown, and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
But the Vikings won when Ifeatu Melifonwu picked off a Nick Mullens pass on the Lions’ 5-yard line, with 58 seconds left and the Vikings driving for the possible go-ahead touchdown.
“It was about time; this was my first career capture, and thank God for that,” said Melifonwu.
“I was in a post, and I saw quarterback and Justin Jefferson in the middle. I jumped it.” It was only a matter of moments after Kerby Joseph got two earlier. It was my time.”
Also, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had his eighth 100-yard game of the season, tying Tyreek Hill to feed the most in the NFL.
In the end, he caught 12 passes for 106 yards and a score. He said he didn’t know what to say after the back-and-forth fight.
“We thought it was very important. “Thirty years is a long time, really,” St. Brown said. “I mean, we knew it.” It was right there in our hands. It was right here. It was a chance. We just couldn’t let it go.”
Goff said before the game that this Lions team didn’t “carry all the baggage of the last 30 years here” because they hadn’t won the division title in 30 years. With this pick, Mullens got his fourth in the game.
That being said, coach Dan Campbell, who was also a Lions player, made it a point of assisting the guys understand the unique chance they had to reach this season-long goal.
“Jurassic Park.” Mr. Jordan. Lady Whitney Houston. Gas that is cheap. In 1993, when the Detroit Lions were at the top of their division, this is how pop culture looked.
There have been many changes since then, but after 30 years, the division title finally came back to Detroit. Coach Dan Carr said, “This is special, but like I said, that it’s a special group.”
The Lions needed all four mistakes they forced to beat the Minnesota Vikings 30–24. They also reached a level of achievement that has proved hard for this team to find in the past.
As the NFC North champions, they’ll host a playoff game to the first time since 1993. But they still need to win a playoff game for the power source first time since 1991 to break their run.
Detroit may be on an upward trajectory where just getting to this point is a big deal, but the Lions need to win with this kind of team.
If Stafford and the Rams were playing better, that could be a scary sight. But it makes the Lions’ accomplishment stand out.
In a strange twist, Matthew Stafford, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, would be taking his team into Detroit over a playoff game if the playoffs began today.