Lions Festivus 2022: It’s a Festivus Miracle!

The third and final leg of our Festivus tradition

We keep sacred that most holy secular day of Festivus, to which we give all tiding and cheer. What was once a joke of a sitcom nobody actually ever saw—it sprung forth, fully formed, and was immediately placed in endless reruns—has now taken perch here at Pride of Detroit, where we have semi-regularly kept up with Festivus traditions like no other.

Finally, it is time to recognize the miracles of Lions Festivus. Oh yes, this year there were many. The Detroit Lions produced them in spades. We recognize those miracles now.

Chris Perfett: How about the fact that until week 14 of the NFL season, Jamaal Williams had more rushing touchdowns than the Denver Broncos had for their entire offense? Beautiful.

It’s also a miracle that we got stickers. Thanks, Jeremy.

Morgan Cannon: My miracle? Jared Goff leaning into the memes that were originally made to make fun of him and the Lions back when the trade first happened. Personally, I think the movie Eight Mile is super overrated, but the memes that come from it? Perfection.

Jeremy Reisman: This is a season full of miracles. Simply going from 1-6 to 6-1 is the definition of a miracle when it comes to Lions football. But to get more specific, the turnaround of Jared Goff is the biggest miracle happening in Detroit right now. I know Pride of Detroit has gotten a bad rap for hating on Goff—some of it was certainly earned—but his improvement in November is undeniable. He’s clearly worked on his pocket presence—resulting in taking sacks in just three of the last seven games—and more importantly, he’s avoided turnovers.

He’s answered just about every question or concern fans have had about him. Deep ball? It’s back with DJ Chark and Jameson Williams. Ability to perform in the clutch? He’s had game-winning drives against the Bears and Jets, and a game-tying drive against the Bills. And now, going into the team’s playoff push, I actually have a ton of confidence that Goff, as someone who has played and succeeded in big games, will lead this team into the postseason.

Erik Schlitt: 63 snaps, 5 sacks. Rookie James Houston spent the first three months of his professional career on the practice squad, wondering if he was cut out for the NFL. Then he was elevated to the active roster for Thanksgiving and he introduced himself to a national audience. He recorded two sacks that day, then another the each of his next three games against the Jaguars, Vikings, and Jets respectively. As of today, he is just one of three players in NFL history to record a sack in each of his first four NFL games (Santana Dotson, 1992, Terrell Suggs, 2003). If he can record a sack in Carolina this Saturday, he will become the only player in league history to record a sack in each of his first five NFL games.

Mike Payton: The miracle is this moment we’re in right now. I’ve never felt the way that I feel right now. Not in 2011, 2014, or 2016. I didn’t feel this way in the ’90s either. This team is so much fun right now and it’s been great to see Lions fans have a blast with this team. It’s a trip to turn on the TV or listen to a podcast and hear people talk about how good the Lions are right now. The miracle isn’t fully finished yet, but even if it all ended soon, it’s been a lot of fun and you can really see that the future is bright. This just might be the standard feeling going forward.

Hamza Baccouche: I know Jeremy and Mike probably said this already and better than I will, but man, it’s Christmas and the Lions are playing meaningful football. More importantly, they’re playing complete football. Even the good seasons as a Lions fan were always plagued with no run game or a porous defense or a bad offensive line. This team is one of the most well-rounded in the league, and it means for the first time they are finding ways to win no matter what hits them. They’re not one-dimensional, they’re not dependent on any one guy, and most importantly, they’re not the Same Old Lions. This is the first time I’ve said that and actually believed it, and that is a miracle.

Ryan Mathews: