In the 30 years between the Detroit Lions’ winning divisional titles — a drought that lasted from 1993 to 2023 — the division they were in changed names.
The old NFC Central became the NFC North in 2002, when the Houston Texans joined the NFL as an expansion franchise and the league went to its current eight-division system.
No matter the name, the Lions weren’t very good, posting a record more than 100 games under .500 between division championships.
Meanwhile, in the same period, the Green Bay Packers were dominant.
From 1994 to 2022 (the 29 seasons when Detroit never won the division), the Packers won the NFC Central/North 15 times, more than every other team in the division combined.
It helped that Green Bay had a franchise quarterback in all of those seasons, with Brett Favre and then Aaron Rodgers — one in the Hall of Fame and the other on his way — leading the team until last season.
Now the Packers are led by Jordan Love, one of the game’s most exciting young quarterbacks. That he has already won a playoff game and signed a contract extension (four years, $220 million, with $155 million guaranteed) suggests he’s one of the most valuable players not only at his position, but also in the entire league.
Are the Packers and Love about to embark on another run of divisional dominance? The Lions may be the biggest obstacle in their way, in both the short and long terms.
Detroit and Green Bay will square off Sunday in a battle of six-win teams, with the winner taking over first place in the division.
Green Bay has thrived this year even without Love, winning twice with backup quarterback Malik Willis in Weeks 2 and 3 after Love hurt his knee in the season opener. Willis also spelled Love in the second half of the Packers’ 30-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8, as Love had to leave with a groin injury.
But even with the injuries, Love has produced this season. He’s tied for third in the league with 15 touchdowns, and he’s eighth in pass yards per game, at 257.8.
Since he started 2-6 in his first eight career starts, Love has gone 11-5, beginning with a 7-3 stretch to close last season and get the Packers into the playoffs. One of those seven wins came in Detroit, as Love threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-22 win.
There’s no question Love is ascending, and he has posted some quality wins in both his seasons as a full-time starter.
The Lions are already on a contender level, however. They made the NFC championship game last year, and they’re 6-1 this season. Jared Goff has made his own MVP case, and Detroit has already vanquished one divisional rival, going on the road and handing the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season in Week 7.
It’s bad luck for Detroit, a franchise that experienced the lowest of lows from 1993 to 2023, to be a quality team again just as Green Bay stumbles into another franchise signal-caller. But Sunday is another opportunity for the Lions to show they are a cut above the rest of their divisional rivals.
That’s why the upcoming clash is bigger than one game. A win would not only put the Lions two games ahead of the Packers in the loss column; it would show that Detroit wasn’t some one-year Cinderella — that the Lions could be capable of being the NFC North bully the Packers once were.
Whatever this division has been called for the last 30 years, the odds were Green Bay was going to win it.
The Packers look to be the kind of team — and most importantly have the kind of quarterback — that could run off that level of dominance again. If this really is a new era of Detroit football, Sunday is a chance for the Lions to make a statement.
