The Lions have finally enjoyed some success in recent years after largely being a non-entity for six decades as Dan Campbell serves as the face that restored the roar. A trip to the NFC championship game in 2023 was followed up with a 15-2 campaign last year — though both of those rides ended with backbreaking playoff letdowns. Much was expected from Jared Goff and Co. this season but things have not gone as planned.
After dropping a game they absolutely had to have against the Packers on Thanksgiving, the Lions have essentially another elimination game against the visiting Dallas Cowboys ahead on Thursday Night Football. Lose this one, move to 7-6 and the prospect of making the playoffs gets extremely bleak. Win it, and it remains about a coin-flip.
Certainly this is not what Lions fans hoped for.
Speaking about the situation on First Take on Thursday morning, Stephen A. Smith laid out the dramatic stakes that could be at play tonight at Ford Field.
"What is going on with the Lions," Smith asked. "You're getting the impression you've missed your window of opportunity ... you're looking at the Detroit Lions and you're saying to yourself 'this is your opportunity' you're on the outside looking in."
"With the Detroit Lions, this wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to be on the outside looking in with seven teams ahead of you record-wise." 😳@stephenasmith on the Lions ahead of their matchup against the Cowboys 🏈 pic.twitter.com/BNHP0XEvhA
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 4, 2025
"This wasn't supposed to happen," he continued. "You weren't supposed to be on the outside looking in with seven teams ahead of you record-wise. We didn't expect that. And the window of opportunity. We've been talking about Dan Campbell, how he resurrected this franchise, how he changed the culture etc, now you're looking at them and saying 'what is up?' This could be it for them."
It could. It's tough to remain a serious contender in one's conference for three straight years. As of now it's looking like the Lions aren't going to play a huge part in who represents the NFC in the Super Bowl. A win changes that. A loss means panic time and a key offseason of uncertainty.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith Suggests Lions' Window Could Close With Loss vs. Cowboys.
