
No NFL team that started the season 1-6 has ever made the postseason. And when the Detroit Lions owned that miserable record, it sure seemed impossible for this to be the team that breaks that historical trend.
Since that 1-6 start, the Detroit Lions are 5-1. The latest win, Sunday’s 34-23 triumph over the 10-3 Vikings, elevated the Lions from the fringe of the “in the playoff hunt” graphics to prominently in the picture. Detroit won in Week 14, while two teams immediately above them in the playoff standings, the Giants and Seahawks, both lost.