Lions eliminated: Detroit’s Super Bowl streak lives on after loss to Vikings

The Detroit Lions’ unwanted Super Bowl streak will stretch on for at least another year after they were eliminated from the 2025 playoff race with a 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day.

Detroit remains the only franchise to have played throughout the entire Super Bowl era, from 1966 to the present, without ever reaching the league’s biggest game, let alone winning it. The Cleveland Browns, founded in 1944, have also never appeared in a Super Bowl, although they were inactive for three seasons from 1996 to 1998.

The Detroit Lions’ near misses

The Lions came agonizingly close to ending that drought in 2023, falling narrowly to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

Last season appeared to set the stage for a breakthrough. Detroit finished 15-2, claimed the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and entered the playoffs as one of the favorites to finally punch a Super Bowl ticket.

Instead, the run ended almost immediately. The Lions were stunned in their first postseason game by the Washington Commanders, extending a run of near misses that has come to define this era.

Jared Goff’s tough night in Minneapolis

Dan Campbell’s team entered Week 17 against the already eliminated Vikings with no margin for error. A win was essential to keep Detroit’s postseason hopes alive.

What followed was one of the roughest outings of Jared Goff’s career. The quarterback threw two interceptions, was sacked five times, and lost three fumbles in a turnover-filled performance that sent the Lions to a third straight defeat and dropped them to 8-8.

Packers celebrate Lions’ loss

Detroit’s loss also reshaped the NFC North race. The division will have a new champion for the first time since 2022.

The Chicago Bears, at 11-4, now sit in pole position, though the Green Bay Packers are still within striking distance at 9-5-1. Green Bay also clinched a playoff spot thanks to the Lions’ defeat in Minneapolis.

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