Last time Lions won a playoff game: Revisiting 1992 and Detroit's history of postseason misery

Entering the 2024 NFL playoffs, 26 NFL teams had won a playoff game in the last eight seasons — the Lions made that 27 on Sunday. 

Ford Field was electric on Sunday night, as Jared Goff and the Lions delivered Motor City its first playoff win since 1992, defeating the Rams 24-23 in the wild-card round. The victory snapped the longest streak without a playoff win in the NFL. 

Detroit's misery on the field has been well-documented, and it hasn't always been a case of struggling to translate regular-season success to playoff success. Even regular-season triumph has been fleeting for the Lions, who have missed the playoffs in each of the last six years.

The 2023 season came with unusually high expectations for Detroit. After finishing 9-8 in 2022 and missing the playoffs by the margin of only a tiebreaker with Seattle, many fans believed this was the year the Lions would take that next step and potentially even win the NFC North. 

Dan Campbell and Co. did just that, winning their first division title in three decades, and delivering the city a playoff win. 

MORE: Who do the Lions play next in 2024 NFL playoffs?

Here's a closer look at when the Lions' last playoff win was before Sunday, and how their drought stood compared to the rest of the league.

When was the Lions' last playoff win?

Before Sunday's win against the Rams, the Lions last won a playoff game on Jan. 5, 1992, after finishing 12-4 in the 1991 regular season.

It wasn't a close one, either. Detroit walloped the Cowboys 38-6, holding Dallas to two first-half field goals and limiting third-year QB Troy Aikman to 114 yards and an interception through the air.

Erik Kramer went 29 of 38 for 291 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions, while Barry Sanders rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown in the win. 

Head coach Wayne Fontes was in his fifth of nine seasons with the Lions at the time. Only one coach, Jim Schwartz, has even made it to a fifth season in Detroit since Fontes. Dan Campbell hopes to change that, and he also hopes to be the one to snap the Lions' stretch of playoff futility.

Despite their many long, painful seasons between 1991 and today, the Lions have has their chances. They suffered five wild card losses in the 1990s, including four with Sanders on the roster.

Once the new century began, the Lions endured an 11-year playoff drought that included an infamous 0-16 season in 2008. The Lions returned to the playoffs led by Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson in 2011, but their three playoff appearances in the Stafford era all ended without a single win.

The closest call came in 2014, when the Lions held a 14-0 lead over the Cowboys in the wild card round. Dallas would score the go-ahead touchdown with under three minutes remaining and advance. The Lions also led the Saints at halftime in 2011 before melting down in the fourth quarter. 

Can they snap the drought this season? Just getting to the playoffs is the first order of business, and history will tell Lions fans that won't be easy.

Longest active NFL playoff win droughts

The Lions were the only team without a playoff win in the 21st century. That is no longer the case.

Their 31-season drought was nine years longer than the Dolphins, whose most recent playoff win came against a young Peyton Manning. Miami now overtakes the top spot for the longest playoff droughts. 

Of the 10 longest droughts, only the Broncos can say their last playoff win was a Super Bowl victory. Denver hasn't won a playoff game since winning Super Bowl 50 over the Panthers, and Carolina's last playoff win came two weeks earlier in the NFC championship game.

Here's a complete look at the NFL's 10 longest playoff win droughts, a list previously led by the Lions.

* A Steelers loss to the Bills in the wild-card round would extend their drought to seven seasons