GMFB: Lions Team to Dethrone Philadelphia Eagles in NFC
With a strong finish to the 2022 season, the Detroit Lions have generated plenty of optimism about their future.
The team missed out on the playoffs, but came within one game of reaching the postseason after an 8-2 finish to the regular season.
With this performance, many are believing in head coach Dan Campbell’s ability to lead the team on a path to championship contention in 2023.
Following the Super Bowl, the Lions had the ninth-best odds to win Super Bowl 58, and the fourth-best odds of any team to win the conference.
Quarterback Jared Goff enjoyed a superb finish to the season, going nine consecutive games without an interception to end the season. Both coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, received head coaching interest from opposing teams, and Campbell found a way to push the team from a 1-6 start to a winning record.
Simply put, the Lions are trending up, in the eyes of the public, heading into next season.
This belief transcends fans and oddsmakers, though. Detroit’s late-season push made a believer out of Kyle Brandt, one of the hosts on NFL Network’s "Good Morning Football."
When asked during Wednesday's show what team could dethrone the Philadelphia Eagles, which are the reigning NFC champions, Brandt claimed the Lions are up to the task.
Detroit Lions running back D'Andre Swift
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
“I’m going with Detroit because of a couple reasons. Money to spend, great momentum, great quarterback, coach who had it cooking," Brandt explained. "Guys, they have the sixth pick, they have the 18th pick, they were the hottest team in football. They bashed the Packers in the last week in Lambeau (Field). The only thing that kept them out of the playoffs was just time, they ran out of time and they didn’t start the season strong enough.
"They wanted to play a game next week, let’s play Week 1 right now and we will beat anybody in the league," Brandt continued. "Money to spend, picks to spend, talent, quarterback, coach. I’m not afraid of the NFC North, I really am not. I like the Lions, (and) it’d be really cool.”
The Lions pushed the NFC champions to the brink in the season-opener, falling, 38-35, after a late comeback came up short. Heading into 2023, Brandt and other pundits believe Detroit will be a contender and compete for a championship.
Detroit general manager Brad Holmes has two first-round selections in the upcoming NFL Draft and five within the first 85 picks. This will allow him to add top, young talent to an already blossoming roster that was among the league’s youngest in 2022.
Additionally, Detroit currently has around $14 million in cap space, with the potential for more with roster moves, according to OverTheCap.com.
