The Lions have been the champions of the NFL before, but they are one of four teams to never play in a Super Bowl since its inception during the 1966-67 playoffs.
They also have had limited playoff success in the previous 57 years of the Super Bowl era before this season, winning just one playoff game in team history.
With Detroit advancing to the NFC Championship game in San Francisco next Sunday after beating Tampa Bay 31-23 in the divisional round, here's looking back at their history -- limited as it may be -- in the NFC's final game of the season.
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How many times have the Lions played in the NFC Championship game?
The Lions' first and only appearance in the conference championship game was after the 1991 season. In that season, they finished 12-4, first in the NFC Central with Wayne Fontes as their coach and Erik Kramer as their starting QB.
Now, Dan Campbell and Jared Goff will try to lead the Lions to victory in San Francisco in another conference championship game, something they couldn't accomplish at the end of the 1992 NFC playoffs at Washington.
What happened last time the Lions played in the NFC Championship game?
The Lions are playing at the No. 1 seed 49ers as the No. 3 seed. The Lions were the No. 2 seed before facing No. 1 Washington in 1992.
This year, the Lions have beaten the Rams and Buccaneers back-to-back to advance. That year with a bye into the divisional playoffs, Detroit had to only rout fifth-seeded Dallas, 38-6 at home in the Pontiac Silverdome, to play in the NFC Championship game.
Unfortunately, the Lions had little chance to beat Washington, who went a dominant 14-2 in the 1991 regular season. Led by Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Gibbs and breakout QB Mark Rypien. Washington went up 10-0 at home in the first quarter and pulled away in a 41-10 romp. The exclamation point was Hall-of-Fame cornerback Darrell Green's 32-yard pick-six, intercepting backup QB Andre Ware for the last of five Washington TDs.
When is the last time the Lions won an NFL championship?
The Lions won their fourth and most recent league title in 1957, well before the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. They also won three more times, in 1935 and back-to-back in 1952 and 1953.
The Lions open as a 7-point underdog against the 49ers, so they're expected to extend their history of no Super Bowl appearances. If they do get to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas, the Lions would be the last of the "old" NFL franchises (being around since 1934) to get there, with the Browns (current version), Texans, and Jaguars all being added via expansion much more recently.
