It wasn’t that long ago the Cincinnati Bengals had gone over three decades without winning a playoff game.
Now, two years after the Bengals ended their 31-year drought during Wild Card Weekend, the Detroit Lions will look to end their own 31-year famine in the same round when they host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Currently, those 31-year droughts are tied for the third-longest streaks in NFL history. Only the New Orleans Saints (32 years) and Arizona Cardinals (51 years) have longer streaks, so the Lions are on the verge of tying for the second-longest streak if they fail to beat L.A.
The last time Detroit won in the postseason? Barry Sanders was wrapping up just his third NFL season.
The Barry Sanders era
When you think of the Detroit Lions, one of the first players who likely comes to mind is Sanders, and for good reason.
Regarded as one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time, Sanders came to the Lions in 1989. Prior to his arrival, the Lions had made the playoffs just four times since 1958.
With Sanders, the Lions would make the postseason five times during his 10 seasons. But despite having one of the most exhilarating players in the history of football, Detroit would win just one playoff game with Sanders, which came during that 1991 campaign.
Ironically, there was another dubious streak Detroit would be part of following that season. The Lions’ win against Green Bay in Week 16 would be their final road victory over the Packers for the next 24 years until the skid ended in 2015.
After finishing the regular season at 12-4, the Lions claimed the NFC Central and a first-round bye. In the Divisional Round, Detroit would play host to the Dallas Cowboys, who would go on to win the Super Bowl in the 1992 season.
But on this day, it was the Lions who looked worthy of the Lombardi, thrashing the Cowboys en route to a 38-6 victory.
Sanders was actually held in check for his standards, as he rushed for just 69 yards and one score while catching five balls for 30 yards.
The real MVP was embattled Lions quarterback Erik Kramer, who completed 29/38 passes for 341 yards and three scores with no turnovers and one sack taken.
Sadly, that would be the final playoff game Detroit would win.
The following round, the Lions went to Washington and were demolished in a 41-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
The drought continues through the 1990s
The following season, Detroit would flounder to a 5-11 finish before rebounding with a 10-6 campaign in 1993 that earned them another NFC Central crown. In the Wild Card Round, Detroit would play host to the Packers and quarterback Brett Favre, who was making his first playoff start in what would turn into a Hall of Fame career.
The two NFC rivals would battle back and forth until the very end. With Detroit leading 24-21 with a minute remaining, Favre would hit Sterling Sharpe for a 40-yard touchdown that proved to be the game-winner, stunning the Pontiac Silverdome crowd of nearly 69,000 spectators.
As if that weren’t painful enough, the Lions would again suffer playoff defeat to the Packers the following season in 1994 after finishing the regular season at 9-7. This time, it was a defensive struggle at Green Bay that saw the home team come away with a 16-12 win. In what was arguably the worst game of his career, Sanders was held to -1 yards on 13 carries and three catches for a mere 4 yards.
In 1995, the Lions would again make the playoffs as a 10-6 Wild Card team but fell in a 58-37 shootout at Philadelphia.
Detroit would miss the postseason in 1996 after faltering to a 5-11 finish.
1997 would turn out to be the final playoff season for the Sanders-led Lions, finishing the regular season with a 9-7 record. But once again, they went one and done, falling 20-10 at Tampa Bay.
1998 would be Sanders’ final year in Detroit, but the Lions struggled en route to a 5-11 finish, and he opted to retire following the season.
The Lions would actually make the playoffs the following season as an 8-8 Wild Card team before losing 20-10 at Washington.
From there, Detroit would have just three playoff berths over the next 23 seasons, all ending with one-and-done exits in Wild Card Weekend. That’s the fate they’ll look to avoid this time around in their first playoff appearance since 2016.
An old friend on the Rams’ sideline makes this Wild Card Weekend particularly interesting
Adding an extra layer to Detroit’s postseason woes is they’ll be hosting former quarterback Matthew Stafford this Sunday, as he’s now leading the Los Angeles Rams.
Stafford was Detroit’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and he went on to have a great career that saw him break many Lions passing records. He would also guide Detroit to the playoffs three times, but all three ended in defeat.
The one that really haunts Detroit came in the 2014 season. Playing on the road in Dallas, the Lions looked poised to end their playoff drought, as they outplayed the Cowboys for much of the day and took a 20-7 lead late in the third quarter.
From there, it was all Cowboys as they scored the game’s final 17 points, including the game-winning touchdown from Tony Romo to Terrance Williams with 2:32 remaining.
The Lions would get one more crack at it, but on 4th and 3 at the Dallas 42 with one minute left, Stafford was strip-sacked, and the Cowboys recovered to author the latest chapter in Detroit’s postseason tragedy.
Stafford was later traded to the Rams in 2021, and he went on to guide Los Angeles to a Super Bowl LVI victory.
Now, the Lions will look to end their playoff drought while facing one of the best players in franchise history on the other sideline.
As if Detroit fans needed any more anxiety for what’s sure to be a very stressful day at Ford Field.