MLive’s Kyle Meinke wrote about how the Den showed up to NFL games just as much as the team did throughout the NFL season.
He reported that the season saw the most fans proudly attend Lions games for the first time in decades:
Lions fans invaded road stadiums from one coast to the other, and showed up in record numbers back home. Ford Field sold out for the first time ever and drew an average of 64,850 people per game in the regular overall, the highest attendance in the 22-year history of the building.
Then the playoffs rolled around, and another sold-out crowd let out a cry of 133.6 decibels as players ran onto the field for the first postseason game in Detroit in 30 years, another stadium record.
A week later, they broke that sound barrier again when Jared Goff took three knees to finish off Tampa Bay and send Detroit to the NFC Championship game. At 134.3 decibels, Ford Field became the fourth-loudest building in the history of the NFL.
It was an incredible season for a team that fully deserved their spot in the NFC Championship game. Even the team’s general manager couldn’t help but feel pride:
“Look, I don’t think there’s any debate that we have the best fanbase in the world,” general manager Brad Holmes said this week. “Hands down, I don’t care what anybody says, any sport. Look, they made Ford Field tough this year. They made it a tough environment to play.”
The Detroit Lions made sure to show their fans the high-quality football that the city craved for in so long. They finished the regular season with 4401 passing yards (2nd), 30 TDs (4th), 2311 rushing yards (5th), and 27 rushing TDs (1st). Their defense also held up well against some of the best teams in the NFC and AFC.
While there are still questions over the overly aggressive playcalling Dan Campbell made late in their NFC Championship loss, the team will be coming back with almost the same roster and coaching staff. The Detroit Lions will be one of the most dangerous teams to face when the 2024 NFL season kicks off in September.