On December 30, 2023, the Detroit Lions played the Dallas Cowboys in a huge game to decide who will be the second seed in this year’s playoff run. The game had a controversial ending. With 1:43 left the Lions got the ball back down 13-20. They marched down the field and scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game, instead of going for the extra point to tie the game and go to overtime, the Lions decided to go for two for the win. They ran a trick play throwing the ball to the offensive lineman, with him catching it for the win. However, about one minute after the play, the refs called a flag for illegal touching meaning the lineman was not eligible to catch the ball because he did not report to the ref. But after review, it was shown he did in fact tell the ref he was eligible, and the ref failed to communicate that to the opposing team, causing the Lions to lose 20-19.
“We were robbed of the win,” senior Chris Dickow said. “The lineman clearly reported to the ref, and it should have not been a flag, and we should have won the game to clinch the number two seed for the playoffs in the NFC.”
With the Detroit loss, the Lions are now likely to stay the third seed in the NFC playoff hunt. Their likely matchup will be the Los Angeles Rams or the Green Bay Packers. The game will be in Detroit at Ford Field sometime in January.
“We can beat the Packers or Rams in the playoffs,” senior Fadel Ahmed said. “We just have to play our best at home and hopefully advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and make a Superbowl run.
Since the San Fransico 49ers lost, if the Lions won the game vs the Cowboys, they would have the number one seed in the NFC this season, which means they would have a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. This is a big advantage for teams as they only have to win two games to go to the Superbowl, rather than three.
“I think this will give us motivation going into the playoffs,” senior Matthew Hanoush said. “Yes, it would be good having the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but we have extra fuel and motivation going into the playoffs now.”
This is the first Detroit Lions playoff run since 1991, so the fans and team will be excited and hoping to win the Superbowl this season.
