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Unlucky No. 3 for Detroit Lions? Teams with three seed in NFC playoffs have not fared well

dave birkett, detroit free press
·2 min read
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The three seed in the NFC playoffs has been an unlucky place to be, but the Detroit Lions have a little history on their side in their quest for their first Super Bowl.

The third-seeded Lions (12-5) will host the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-7) in their first home playoff game in 30 years Sunday at Ford Field. No three seed has advanced out of the first round of the NFC playoffs since 2016, when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Lions in their last playoff appearance.

Jim Caldwell looks toward the scoreboard in the second half of the Lions' 26-6 loss in the NFC wild-card playoff game against the Seahawks on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 in Seattle. The Seahawks were the last NFC team to win their playoff opener as a No. 3 seed.
Jim Caldwell looks toward the scoreboard in the second half of the Lions' 26-6 loss in the NFC wild-card playoff game against the Seahawks on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 in Seattle. The Seahawks were the last NFC team to win their playoff opener as a No. 3 seed.

Since then, No. 3 seeds in the NFC have lost six straight games by an average of 7.2 points, with the Rams taking part in two of those games. In 2017, the Rams, with current Lions quarterback Jared Goff under center, lost as a three seed to the Atlanta Falcons, 26-13. Three years later, Goff came off the bench to relieve an injured John Wolford as the Rams beat the third-seeded Seattle Seahawks, 30-20.

The Minnesota Vikings (last year), San Francisco 49ers (in 2021), New Orleans Saints (in 2019, when Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn were assistants on the team) and Chicago Bears (in 2018) also have lost as three seeds in recent years.

Since the NFL went to its current division format in 2002, just one three seed from each conference has made the Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI as a three seed in February of 2007. Three years earlier, the Carolina Panthers lost to the New England Patriots as a three seed, 32-29.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, left, and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the coin flip before the start of the game at SoFi Stadium, Oct. 24, 2021 in Inglewood, Calif.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, left, and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the coin flip before the start of the game at SoFi Stadium, Oct. 24, 2021 in Inglewood, Calif.

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The Lions have played in two other three-six games in recent playoff history: They lost as the sixth seed to the Saints in the 2011 playoffs, and again to the Dallas Cowboys in 2014.

As rotten of luck as three seeds have had in recent years, the Lions have one odd playoff fact going for them: According to the NFL, this is the first time in 23 years the playoff field features three franchises that have never played in a Super Bowl: The Lions, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans.

The last time an NFL postseason included as many franchises without a Super Bowl berth was 2000, when the Baltimore Ravens won the championship as a first-time participant in the game. The two other franchises that made the playoff field that season without ever having gone to a Super Bowl, the Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won championships within the decade.

So take heart, Lions fans. If this isn't the year a Super Bowl awaits as a No. 3 seed, hoisting that Lombardi Trophy may be in the not-so-distant future.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions looking to end jinx of No. 3 seeds in NFC playoffs