Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions travel to San Francisco to face Brock Purdy and the mighty 49ers. The 49ers are a 7.5pt favorite, but don’t dismiss the Lions’ chances.

This year’s two playoff victories are the first for the Lions since the divisional round in 1991 when they beat the Cowboys 38-6. Underdog stories are part of the bread and butter of America. America itself is an underdog story. I’d imagine Great Britain had much better odds against the 13 Colonies than 7.5pts.

Dan Campbell went 3-13 in 2021 during his first year as head coach. He went 9-8 in 2022. In 2023, Campbell led his team to a 12-5 record and won the NFC North for the first time since 1993. The lions have been been described as a “poverty franchise” for the majority of my lifetime. Sure, some of their support comes out of pity for not winning anything in over three decades, but Detroit is firing on all cylinders for the first time this century.

Detroit has a chance to be the first franchise to complete a rebuild capped off with a Superbowl victory in recent memory. Cincinnati almost did it before they fell to Matt Stafford, a former Lion, and his Rams in 2022.

Support the Lions this weekend. Cheer for a team that hasn’t won anything in three decades. Cheer for the American Dream in the form of NFL football.