The way the Lions closed the 2022 season raised the bar for the team heading into this season and the NFL didn’t do anything to downplay that when they announced the schedule earlier this year.
Opening night will see the Lions in Kansas City to face the Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium and putting the NFC North team in that spot only feeds into the feeling that they will be a playoff contender. Some players might prefer to fly under the radar, but wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown isn’t running away from the pressure that comes with high expectations.
“My rookie year, we went 3-13-1, [Lions fans] were still there for us ,” St. Brown said, via Gilbert Manzano of SI.com. “And now the hype is crazy. When I go back for OTAs and whatnot, you go to the grocery store, you go to the restaurant, whatever you’re doing that day. If a fan sees you, they’re super excited. They have big expectations, but I feel like no matter what, they’re always going to be there for us. That’s something, as a player, I really appreciate, because there’s definitely those bandwagon fans that you see with the big teams that win a lot.”
The Lions haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, so it’s no surprise that there’s a lot of hunger for a winner in Detroit. If they get one, that bandwagon will likely start filling up ahead of the 2024 campaign.