In 2023, they proved that they belong among the NFC's elite by nearly taking the San Francisco 49ers out in the NFC Championship Game.
That led to big expectations in 2024 and the Lions delivered during the regular season, earning a record of 15-2.
Unfortunately, they fell well short of the expectations during the postseason as they were eliminated in their first playoff game of the year.
Now the expectations are high again for the 2025 season and it seems that may put some added pressure on quarterback Jared Goff.
CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr ranked Goff fourth on a list of quarterbacks under the most pressure to win the Super Bowl.
The three QBs under more pressure were Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.
Goff has already gotten his first chance at a Super Bowl. He led the Los Angeles Rams to the big game during the 2018 season.
It didn't go well for him. He completed just 19 of 38 passes and threw an interception on the way to a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The three points tied for the least ever in a Super Bowl.
Afterwards, Goff caught a lot of the blame for the loss.
During his time with the Lions, he has proven that he is a much better QB than what we saw in that loss to the Patriots.
There is only even pressure on him right now because he has helped the Lions become a bonafide contender.
When the Lions get their next crack at the playoffs, he'll need to be better than his three-interception performance against the Commanders.
However, he has given fans plenty of reason to believe that performance was just an anomaly after three consecutive seasons over 4000 yards and a fifth place finish in the MVP voting this past season.
Before he gets another crack at a Super Bowl, Goff will have to go through a loaded NFC North and plenty of tough competition in the playoffs, but we all know that trophy will be the only thing on the Lions' minds heading into the 2025 season.
This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.
