The Lions hangover: Every team has problems after the fight against Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) – It’s an infection that has spread to nearly every team that faced the Detroit Lions over the course of the season – you might call it the Lions hangover.

This season, every team that plays the Lions loses or plays a lackluster game the following week.

The Lions enter Week 9 of the season with a strong 6-1 record after a comfortable win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but two other games caught the attention of football fans, the Dallas Cowboys vs. the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings vs. LA Rams. The Vikings and Cowboys both lost their Week 8 matchups.

Two games earlier, the Lions defeated the Cowboys with a 47-9 win, on Dallas owner Jerry Jones’ birthday. A week later, the Lions scored a game-winning field goal, ending an undefeated Vikings season.

Due to a bye week for Dallas, both losing teams were playing a post-Lions game at the same time, and eagle-eyed football fans were checking to see if a double-overtime loss was possible. And that was it.

The Vikings added a second L to their record, losing to the Rams 30-20. The Cowboys weren’t so lucky either, losing 30-24 to the 49ers.

Why are these losses significant?

Going back to the preseason, almost every team that plays the Lions, win or lose, will fail in the following game.

At the start of the preseason, the Lions suffered a 14-3 loss to the New York Giants. In their next game against the Texans, the Giants would lose 28-10.

Next up is the Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Lions would secure their first preseason victory against the Chiefs with a 24-23 victory. Kansas City would then lose its final preseason game 34-21 to the Chicago Bears.

Next was the only exception to the curse: the Pittsburgh Steelers won their first regular season game after losing to the Lions two weeks earlier.

Since then, every single team that has played the Lions has lost the following game.

Here is every win/loss after a game against the Lions:

Week 1 – The lions beat LA Rams 26-20

• Aries lost 41-10 to the Arizona Cardinals Week 2

Week 2 – The Lions lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20:16

• Buccs lost 26-7 to the Denver Broncos Week 3

Week 3 – The Lions defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-13

• Cardinals lost 42-14 to the Washington Commanders Week 4

Week 4 – The Lions defeated the Seattle Seahawks 42-29

• Seahawks lost 29:20 against the New York Giants Week 5

Week 5 – Lions take a bye week

Week 6: The Lions defeated the Dallas Cowboys 47-9

Week 7 – The Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-29

• Vikings lost 30-20 to the Rams Week 8
• Cowboys lost 24:30 against the 49ers Week 8

Could this all just be a big coincidence? Perhaps.

Some football fans believe the Lions are leaving their teams exhausted. Hangover after their run-ins, leaving them unable to perform for their next game.

But who knows, the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Chiefs after defeating the Lions in the playoffs.

Will the trend continue? The latest test of the theory continues when the 1-7 Titans take on the 2-6 New England Patriots in Nashville on Sunday at 1:00 pm EST on FOX.

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