With two games remaining in the 2023 NFL regular season, the Detroit Lions are headed to the playoffs as division champs for the first time since 1993, and for the first time ever as NFC North champs.

The Lions' previous division title, way back in the days before the North, was won in the five-team NFC Central, which featured the familiar Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who are not "Central" to anything, save Florida).

In the spirit of the Lions' accomplishment, as well as perhaps the spirit — or is that ghost? — of Christmas past, let's look back at the '93 Lions:

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1993 Detroit Lions

The 1993 Lions won the Central with a 10-6 record despite starting three quarterbacks — Erik Kramer, Rodney Peete and Andre Ware — and dealing with a costly knee injury to Barry Sanders, who was the heartbeat of the offense.

Much like this season, the Lions raced out to an early division lead with a 7-2 start. One of the most thrilling games during the early success came against the Vikings on a Halloween edition of Sunday Night Football (which was then on ESPN). The Lions trailed by 14 points to start the fourth quarter, but scored 17 unanswered to escape the Metrodome with a 30-27 win. The comeback started with a 93-yard touchdown pass from Peete to Herman Moore, and Derrick Moore scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 40 seconds remaining.

Through the first nine weeks, Sanders was on pace for the second rushing title of his career, running for 977 yards, (an average of 108.6 per game) with over 100 yards more than the second-place running back, the New York Giants' Rodney Hampton.

The hot start ended over the next three weeks. The Lions' attempt to reach 8-2 for the first time in 1962 fell short with a 26-17 loss to the Packers in Milwaukee, coming off the second bye of the season. The Lions dropped their Thanksgiving game four days later to the Bears and lost Sanders for the rest of the season after he tore ligaments in his left knee.

Without Sanders, the Lions' offense fell apart in Week 14 against the Vikings, extending the losing streak to three. The Lions were shut out, 13-0, and Peete threw four interceptions, prompting head coach Wayne Fontes to name Kramer the starting quarterback for the final four weeks.

Kramer helped right the ship for Detroit in the last month of the season, leading the team to a 3-1 record to secure the division. The Lions clinched at home in Week 18 against the Packers with a 30-20 win, moving to 10-6. The defense intercepted Brett Favre four times and forced a fumble, while Eric Lynch ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns in Sanders' place.

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The reward? The NFC's No. 3 seed and a rematch with the Packers. Sanders returned from his knee injury, providing a boost to the offense now led by Kramer.

But the Packers had their revenge, dealing the Lions one of the most painful playoff defeats in franchise history. The Lions controlled the game, but blew a 17-7 lead in the second half to fall 28-24. The Packers won on last-second heroics from Favre, who hit a wide-open Sterling Sharpe — after defensive back Kevin Scott had blown the coverage — on the run for a 40-yard touchdown to take the lead with 55 seconds remaining.

"On the last play, I didn't let Kevin know what the coverage was," safety William White told reporters. "I didn't know, and we just blew it. Just blew it. … I effed up.” Scott concurred, saying, “Everybody was not on the same page on that play. I’m thinking one thing and everybody is thinking another.”

The Lions outgained the Packers, 410-293, with Sanders galloping for 169 yards over 27 carries, and won the time of possession battle by more than 10 minutes, but couldn't come up with a stop or score down the stretch to advance to the divisional round.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A look back at the last time the Detroit Lions won their division