DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Lions' Super Bowl dreams came to a crushing end Thursday night with a must-win loss to the Minnesota Vikings, officially eliminating them from playoff contention and leaving fans to process a season that fell far short of expectations.
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"Disappointing," "bad," "anxiety," and "disappointment" were among the words Lions fans used to describe their feelings after the Christmas night defeat that ended their 2024 campaign.
"Kind of just made us sick," one fan said about the loss.
Michelle Winn, a Lions fan, summed up the sentiment many were feeling.
"Unfortunately just not meant to be," Winn said.
The loss was particularly painful for families watching together on Christmas night.
"Oh it was rough, you can just ask the kids I was sitting at the TV I was like oh they lost the ball again, they were like oh no dad Christmas is over," Zachary Carter said.
For lifelong Lions fans Collin Foust and Todd Miller, the defeat brought back familiar feelings of disappointment that had defined the franchise for decades.
"Felt like how it used to feel like, same old Lions," one fan said.
But this Lions team was different - they entered the season with championship expectations after back-to-back NFC North titles. The pressure that came with success made the failure even more difficult to accept.
"When you're good, it's pressure, it's a good type of pressure, we're supposed to be beating these teams that we lost to, and it's tough," Miller said.
The dramatic fall from grace has been stunning. The Lions went from division champions to last place in the NFC North with just one week remaining in the regular season.
"You shouldn't be going 15-2 and then not making the playoffs, you got to keep the team how it was, you got to build off of it," Nolan Ong said.
As fans look ahead to next season, many believe the team's focus should be on protecting quarterback Jared Goff and rebuilding the offensive line.
"Protecting Jared Goff is number 1, I think getting that offensive line back to full health and upgrading certain aspects of the offense would be huge," Foust said.
"I think the offensive line needs to change maybe get a couple more players in there that can protect our quarterback," Winn said.
The Lions have one final game remaining - a matchup against the Chicago Bears that could provide some small measure of satisfaction.
"If you can beat a rival before they head into the playoffs, and remind them they're human that'd be pretty cool," Carter said.
Despite the crushing disappointment, Lions fans remain hopeful about the future.
"As a Lions fan you've always got to be hopeful for the future right so I'm hopeful with some changes we can come back and we can get that Super Bowl win," Winn said.
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