The history of the NFL has seen teams come close to winning it all one year before coming back to finish the job the next season and it has seen teams come close before falling flat upon their return to the field.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell wants his team to be in the former category. They led the 49ers by 17 points at halftime of the NFC Championship Game last year, but they gave up 27 points en route to a 34-31 loss that sent the 49ers to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. That run and the fact that the Lions have their best players back has made them one of the favorites heading into the 2024 season.
On Wednesday, Campbell recalled being on the 2000 Giants when they lost in the Super Bowl to the Ravens. The team returned with their key players in place for the next season, but went 7-9 and Campbell said they lost their identity and everything else that made them who they were “because, ‘You know what? We’ll be OK. We’ve got the same guys.’” The coach vowed that the same thing won’t happen with the Lions.
“We don’t live off reputation. We live off of work,” Campbell said, via the team’s website.
There are a lot of variables like injuries that the Lions won’t be able to control over the coming months. They can control their effort, though, and Campbell is adamant that won’t flag as the team renews its pursuit of the first championship in franchise history.