The Detroit Lions have clinched their first divisional championship in 30 years, will host the first playoff game in the history of Ford Field and, as of this writing, are very much alive for the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the 2023 playoffs.

It's been a heady year for Detroit Lions fans. But it was just two years ago that the team started the season winless going 0-10 to start the 2021 campaign. Having suffered through a winless season and a string of coaches that couldn't get the ship righted, fans were already souring on the new regime.

However, then came Week 13 of the 2021 Season and a game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Lions were trailing by 4 with just 4 seconds left in the game and were in the Red Zone on the Minnesota 11 yard line. A field goal would have been, of course, meaningless. The team needed the endzone.

Thanks to Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown, they'd find it and end the game in the winners circle.

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That combo would go on to connect many, many more times in the games afterward.

That win is the exact moment that Lions fans point to as the true turnaround for the team.

Here's how a Detroit Free Press sports writer opened his story after the game:

Dan Campbell threw his arms in the air, fists clenched in jubilation.

Jared Goff sprinted to his coach on the sideline, and the two embraced in a big bear hug.

After 11 games of shock, frustration and sometimes pitiful play, the Detroit Lions finally got a late-game break to go their way.

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After the game, head coach Dan Campbell gave the first of what would become common firely after victory speeches that has endeared himself to the team and the Lions fanbase. Watch the moment now two years as the team has built upon that first success to the point that they'll have at least one banner to hang from the rafters of Ford Field to kick off the 2024 season.

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