On Thursday night, the Browns clinched a playoff spot, four days after the Lions clinched the NFC North title. That means we’ll see something this year that we haven’t seen in three decades: the Browns and Lions both making the playoffs.
The last time the Browns and Lions made the playoffs together was in 1994, when the Browns finished 11-5 and the Lions finished 9-7, both as wild card teams. Browns coach Bill Belichick guided his team to a wild-card round victory over the Patriots before falling to the Steelers in the divisional game. Lions coach Wayne Fontes and his club were eliminated in the wild card round by the Packers.
Since then, it’s been largely ugly for both franchises. The Lions have made the playoffs just six times since 1994 and are 0-6 in postseason games. The Browns have made the playoffs only twice since 1994 and are 1-2 in postseason games.
And, of course, the Lions and Browns have the only two 0-16 seasons in NFL history: The Lions lost every game in 2008 and the Browns lost every game in 2017.
There was a time when the Lions and Browns were the class of the NFL: In the 1950s, each team won three league championships, and they played each other in the NFL championship game four times. Neither team has been to a Super Bowl, but this is a year when long-suffering fans of both teams are dreaming big.
