Have the Detroit Lions ever made it to the Super Bowl?

It was more than 30 years since the Detroit Lions had just won a game in the NFL Playoffs leading into the 2023-24 postseason. But with a victory at home over the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round -- albeit not without some drama -- they ended that drought.

Ending the playoff win drought appeared to galvanize the Dan Campbell-led team and the city of Detroit as a whole. They moved past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round for a berth in the NFC Championship Game, just one win away from the Super Bowl -- though that win would have to come against the No. 1 seed in the conference, the San Francisco 49ers.

However, being ever-so-close to the Super Bowl had many NFL fans wondering if the Lions have ever been to the Super Bowl, much less won it, after being perceived as a doormat in the league for so long.

Have the Detroit Lions ever made the Super Bowl?

The Detroit Lions are not only one of the 12 teams to have never won a Super Bowl, they have also never played in the Super Bowl. The Lions are one of just four teams in the NFL that have never suited up on Super Bowl Sunday, a list that features two franchises that were brought into the league since the mid-1990s in the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. Perhaps the most daunting part of the Lions having never been to the Super Bowl, though, is that they've only been as close as they were going into the 2023-24 NFC Championship Game once.

Detroit Lions NFC Championship Game appearances

The Lions had only played in one NFC Championship Game in the franchise's history prior to the date being set with the 49ers. That came when they had last won a playoff game as well back in the 1992-93 season. After topping the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round, they were trounced by Washington in the conference championship matchup, 41-10. That Washington team went on to win the Super Bowl.

Detroit Lions NFL championships, pre-Super Bowl era

Despite having never played in the Super Bowl, the Detroit Lions have won an NFL Championship, doing so four times. This was prior to the AFL-NFL merger and the beginning of the Super Bowl, of course, but titles are titles and Detroit captured a quartet of them prior to 1960. The Lions won the NFL Championship in 1935 (vs. New York Giants), 1952 (vs. Cleveland Browns), 1953 (vs. Cleveland Browns) and 1957 (vs. Cleveland Browns). Incidentally, they also lost in the 1954 NFL Championship to the Browns.