Alex Anzalone Will Pay 'Huge Dividends' in Super Bowl Run

Just as they finished the regular season, the Detroit Lions will begin their playoff journey on Saturday against the Washington Commanders with several defensive players sidelined due to injury. The laundry list of players continues to include impact defenders Aidan Hutchinson (fibula and tibia), Alim McNeill (ACL) and Carlton Davis (jaw).

Fortunately for the Lions, though, they will have the services of veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone. Anzalone, who suffered a broken forearm in Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, returned to action for Detroit's Week 18 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings. He made his presence known, too, finishing the regular season finale with seven total tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. 

Since joining the Lions in 2021, Anzalone has been an invaluable member of the team's defense. He's aided the organization not only via his production on the field, but also with his strong football IQ that has rubbed off on his counterparts in Aaron Glenn's defense. 

“Look, Alex is always going to help. Getting him back, I mean, just having him back the other day paid huge dividends,” Detroit head man Dan Campbell said of the savvy veteran's impact. “It was one of the reasons that we did well, that we played a really good game defensively, he’s certainly one of those reasons. So, to get him back, the production he brings, the athlete, but then just the – what he brings mentally, because he understands the game well, he studies, he’ll know this offense, he’ll know what they’re trying to do, and he can kind of help everybody out around him. So, yeah, it helps having him.”

Anzalone has been a part of a variety of highs and lows in his time with the Lions.

He was a member of the very first season of the Campbell-Brad Holmes regime, having originally signed with Detroit prior to the 2021 campaign. That season, as Lions fans will definitely remember, was a rough one for the organization. Campbell & Co. went just 3-13-1, and finished in last place in the NFC North division. 

And then the following season, Detroit started off a measly 1-6, which caused many fans and pundits to call for team owner Sheila Hamp to make a change at head coach. Hamp, however, decided to stay the course, and the Lions haven't looked back since. Detroit won eight of its last 10 games to close out the 2022 season, finishing the campaign with a winning record (9-8) for the first time since 2017.

The Lions then increased their win total each of the past two seasons, winning 12 games in 2023 and a franchise-best 15 in 2024. And along the way, Detroit captured back-to-back NFC North championships for the first time ever.

As Anzalone reflected on during “The Adam Schefter Podcast” Tuesday, the Lions have experienced a seismic turnaround since the beginning of the Campbell-Holmes era.

“In 2021, we had a lot of close games, like it wasn’t like we were getting blown out. Late in the season just injuries piled up a little bit and you know how that goes. We lost Jared (Goff) for a few games in 2021, but it wasn’t like we were just a completely crappy team. We didn’t necessarily have the pieces that we need or that we have now,” Anzalone expressed. “And then in ‘22, we just built off that year. I remember we won eight of the last 10, I think we missed the playoffs by a game. Since then, we just knew we had the horses in the race to be able to compete with the best of them, and that’s kind of where we’ve been.”

For as much success as the Lions have had since the second half of the 2022 season, the organization has yet to still do one thing: make a Super Bowl. If Detroit were to do so this season, it would mark the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Anzalone surely understands how significant of an achievement that would be for the organization and its fanbase. However, he also knows that he and his teammates have some business to take care of first, including beating the Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday.

“That’d be sick to be a part of, I know that,” Anzalone said of the Lions winning a world championship. “Just getting to this point has been, it’s part of my legacy now and part of our team’s legacy. So, an organization like this who, you know, struggles for a while, to see it succeed and help build that has been really cool. But, we’ve got to win this divisional round.”