For nearly a century, the Detroit Lions’ entry into the playoffs was a big day.

Suddenly it has become old hat.

After the Lions won their last NFL championship in 1957, they played only 13 playoff games over the next 75 seasons. They’ve won just one of those – a 38-6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1991.

That all changed last season. The Lions defeated the Rams 24-23 on Jan. 14 and defeated Tampa Bay 31-23 a week later. They led the NFC Championship game around the clock at halftime, but the San Francisco 49ers rallied and won 34-31.

This year things went even better. A week after one Thanksgiving victory over the Chicago Bearsthe lions defeated Green Bay 34-31 to move to 12-1 and secure a second straight postseason berth – the first time in three straight years from 1993 to 1995.

Coach Dan Campbell didn’t even realize his team had secured a playoff spot after defeating the Packers.

“I just found out – I didn’t realize it,” he said after the game. “It is good. It’s good, but it’s like, man, we’ve got four more (games) left and we want to go a different route. We want to move forward on our terms and find a way to get that one spot. “That’s the priority.”

Campbell paid so little attention to securing a spot that he didn’t even mention it to the team after the game – even though the scoreboards might read “Playoffs Won.”

“I wish I had told the team, but I had no idea,” he said. “Honestly, I think they know. You feel like me. We can do the old golf clap, but we know what we want to do.”

Jared Goff, who followed Campbell into the interview room, agreed with his coach.

“I just heard that,” he said. “It’s pretty cool, but it’s certainly not our ultimate goal. We want to win this division and we still have a lot of work to do.”

What works

At 12-1 and on an 11-game winning streak, it’s hard to find something that isn’t working. However, the Lions’ offense was remarkable. They have scored at least 23 points in 10 straight games, including six games over 30, four over 40 and two over 50. They lead the league in points scored at 32.1 per game and are tied for both passing touchdowns (27). fourth in rushing touchdowns (22).

What needs help

The Lions are second in the league with 18.0 ppg, but injuries are starting to catch up with them. Jordan Love averaged 10.3 yards per attempt and 17.2 yards per completion on Thursday – both the worst marks of the season for Detroit’s defense – and the Packers became the first team this season to score 30 points against them.

Seven Lions defensive backs recorded a quarterback hit on Thursday night. Linebacker Jack Campbell was a first-round pick in 2023 and an integral part of the Detroit defense, but the other six – Al-Quadin Muhammad, Myles Adams, Trevor Nowaske, Za’Darius Smith, Ezekiel Turner and Jonah Williams – have joined the ranks team during the regular season to replace injured players.

Stock up

Rookie CB Terrion Arnold had a rough day, including another pass interference penalty in the end zone that negated a Lions interception. He has not recorded an interception in his 12-game career and is averaging 0.6 passes defended per game.

Inventory reduced

The Lions were missing 11 defensive linemen and linebackers against the Packers and also lost key defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a head injury. Most of those players are injured, but it is not clear whether McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), Josh Paschal (knee) or DJ Reader (shoulder) will be available for Dec. 15 against Buffalo.

Key number

18 – the number of Lions on injured reserve, more than any other team in the NFL. If anything can derail them between now and the Super Bowl, it will be the lack of healthy players in positions other than the defensive front seven.

Next Steps

Give yourself as much rest and healing as possible during a long week.