Credit: Detroit Free Press-USA TODAY Sports
Could the Detroit Lions follow the path of the Cincinnati Bengals, and follow a couple lackluster seasons with a trip to the Super Bowl?
The Cincinnati Bengals had the worst record in the NFL in 2019, then of course went to the Super Bowl two years later. The Detroit Lions didn’t have the NFL’s worst record in 2021, only second-worst (3-13-1), but head coach Dan Campbell knows a quick turnaround can be done based on what the Bengals did.
But can the Lions do what the Bengals did, and follow two bad seasons with a trip to the Super Bowl? Sure it’s unlikely. But maybe it’s not as unlikely as you think, beyond a key difference of Cincinnati already having their young franchise quarterback and the Lions searching for one.
In any case, here are some reasons the Lions can replicate the success of the 2021 Bengals in 2022.
3 reasons the Detroit Lions can the Bengals of the 2022 season
3. A vulnerable division?
Last season, the other teams in the AFC North were in some sort of disarray. Ben Roethlisberger was playing his final season in Pittsburgh as a shell of what he once was, the Baltimore Ravens were hit by injuries (including Lamar Jackson) and the Cincinnati Browns had an unhealthy quarterback of their own for much of the season in Baker Mayfield. The Bengals swept the Ravens and the Steelers during the regular season, while the Browns swept them (thought that included a meaningless Week 18 where Cincinnati rested some guys).
The Lions can look around the NFC North right now and see plenty of potential vulnerability. How that looks by Week 1 is the open question, but the Bengals won an AFC North that became vulnerable around them in 2021.