Detroit Lions Have Rare Chance to Establish New Identity in Matchup vs. Packers

The 2014 Detroit Lions have already proved they are no longer the "Same Old Lions". Notching 11 wins for the first time since 1991 and clinching just the second playoff berth in the 2000s is far beyond anything the Same Old Lions could do. Sunday's game in Green Bay gives this team a chance to establish a bold new identity.

Detroit heads to the western shores of Lake Michigan tied with the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead. The winner captures the division crown and will earn no worse than the No. 2 seed in the conference. 

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So, 11-4 #Lions at 11-4 #Packers, next Sunday, for NFC North title and first-round bye in the NFC.

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) December 21, 2014"

This is unfamiliar territory for the Lions franchise. They're historically a rocket struggling to get off the launch pad, often exploding quickly and spectacularly over the open water, raining debris harmlessly into the NFL ocean. 

RICHARD SHEINWALD/Associated Press

These Lions can be different. They've already burst off the pad and are soaring high in the football sky, sitting second overall in the NFC and possessing one of the league's top defenses. Not since Wayne Fontes coached a young Barry Sanders has this franchise flown this close to playoff orbit.

Winning in Green Bay would push the Lions into a whole new stratosphere. Instead of being seen as a fluky outlier like they were in the quick playoff exit in 2011, earning the first NFC North division title and a rare home playoff game would make a nice base for the new Lions.

To boldly go where no Lions team has gone before, they must break out of light-years of disappointing results in the hostile planet that is the state of Wisconsin.

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DET at GB for NFC North: Lions' 22-game losing streak in Green Bay is an NFL record for most consecutive road losses vs. single opponent.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 22, 2014"

Where some see historic adversity and obstacles, the Lions can find great promise to plant a flag on newfound territory. Winning in Green Bay for the first time since Brett Favre was an Atlanta Falcon and Jason Hanson was still kicking at Washington State would help establish these Lions as a different breed.

That's what Jim Caldwell has been all about since he took over as head coach in January. He and his staff have done a great job of burying the Same Old Lions mindset, the inevitability of gut-wrenching failure and finding new and creative ways to lose games. 

Now it's time for the next step. Caldwell has his Lions perched on the precipice of being a legitimate, perennial power. 

	Score	Yards Per Carry	Sacks	Passing Yards	First Downs
Week 13, 2013	40-10 DET	1.6	7	102	7
Week 3, 2014	19-7 DET	3.4	2	147	14

Beating Green Bay for the third time in a row would help ignite those thrusters to the next level. No team with the possible exception of Seattle matches up better with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. 

Vic Ketchman of the Packers' own website acknowledges as much, stating "the teams that can rush four, drop seven and play the Packers receivers tight would appear to be the Packers’ Kryptonite." 

The Lions were mentioned with the Seahawks and Buffalo Bills as the teams capable of pulling off that strategy. Where Detroit really gets the upper hand is that the Lions can effectively snuff out the run with just the front foursome, too. The linebackers don't need to worry so much about play-action fakes because Ndamukong Suh and Co. handle the run so well without help.

Teams that rocket from also-ran to perennial contender typically have a dominant unit on one side of the ball. From the New Orleans Saints and their Drew Brees-led offense to the Seahawks and their dominating defense, the successful franchises find an identity and ride it.

Detroit can hang its hat on a stellar defense, which has playmakers at all three levels and excellent depth for today's NFL.

Scoring	Yards Per Carry	Rushing Yards	QB rating	Total Yards	3rd Down Rate
2nd	1st	1st	5th	2nd	4th

The offense has a star wide receiver in Calvin Johnson and an excellent first mate in Golden Tate. Matthew Stafford has become a smarter, wiser quarterback and field general focused on winning instead of merely posting out-of-this-world numbers.

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"Matthew Stafford is a lot more interested in being a championship QB than an elite QB" - Jim Caldwell #Lions

— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 17, 2014"

With the way the run game has taken off in recent weeks, coming off a season-high 138 yards against Chicago, all the pieces are in place for Detroit to leave behind decades of failing to launch. 

Coach Caldwell likes to find motivation and inspiration in unusual places for a football coach. Perhaps he can go back to President John F. Kennedy and his rousing speech to convince Americans why catching the Soviets in the space program was so vital to his country. 

Detroit faces great difficulty. Heck, the Lions have endured it for far too long. Overcoming it and finding new heights has many obstacles. This season has proved they can overcome those obstacles with hard work, ample talent and a winning mindset.

It can happen, not because it will be easy, but because it will be hard. These Lions have the ability to accept that challenge and soar to unprecedented heights for a franchise without a championship since before Kennedy took office. 

It starts Sunday in Green Bay. Win, and the nation will start seeing these Lions in a different light.