(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
To get the proper point across in this article I would like to make sure my point of view is clear. I love the Detroit Lions. They are by far my favorite team across all sports to root for and, just like most NFL fans, my happiness on Sundays revolves around the Detroit Lions. Each week that team in Honolulu Blue holds the fate of my weekend, not so delicately, in the palm of their hands.
Now that Lions fans have had some time to digest a bit after Justin Tucker ripped our hearts out I thought it would be “fun” (I use that word loosely) to relive some of the most painful games of the past 10 years.
As many long time Lions fans know, finding an out of the ordinary way to lose isn’t exactly out of the ordinary for the Detroit Lions. It is commonplace for a peculiar rule, questionable call (or no call as we saw Sunday), and/or just a poor play to crush Lions fans.
Now obviously every team in the NFL has their ups and downs. The parity in the NFL is what makes the league so great. Even the great New England Patriots are battling their own issues this year. For the Lions it just seems to happen more often.
Now obviously everyone likes to repeat the old saying “well you should play well enough the rest of the game to not be in that position.” Obviously, this is true, but it sure would be nice to get that lucky bounce or strange rule to be in favor of Detroit occasionally. As an optimist I like to think the tide will turn soon.
While we wait for that to happen here are some of the most infamous Detroit Lions losses of the past 10 years.
Lions: Worst losses of the last decade
2014 Wild Card Vs. Dallas Cowboys
In this one you can jump to about 5 minutes into the linked video for the situation. Back in 2014 with about 8 minutes left the Lions held a 3-point lead on the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. At this point a drive and a touchdown will make it very difficult for the Cowboys to come back against a very good Lion’s defense.
However, after throwing a flag for pass interference on a play where Anthony Hitchens seems to push down tight end Brandon Pettigrew without turning to look for the ball, the referee decides to pick up the flag. This then leads to a shanked punt and a Cowboys drive and touchdown with about 2 minutes left. The Lions fumbled on the next drive and the game was over.
This one especially hurts because of the situation. This would have been the first Lions playoff win since 1991. That 2014 Lions team was highly ranked defensively and had weapons on offense. Instead, a blown call leading to complete loss of momentum ended up continuing the playoff win drought. The Lions have only been back to the playoffs one time since and lost to the Seattle Seahawks and the “Legion of Boom.”