With all the big hype surrounding the Detroit Lions in the offseason, it does seem that Aidan Hutchinson is not new to the big expectations that is building around the team’s chances as they now put their focus to winning big in the next campaign. This is an unfamiliar territory for the Lions, who have not seen massive strides in the game, but now they have to get used to it.

The franchise has spent most of its years as a team that is typically kept in the closet of the NFC North with zero expectations of having a shot at the top of the league. They were even named the black eye of the league amongst other losing teams. Now that they have become a different team in the game, it does seem that the Lions are now looking towards the horizon at this point.

With all the hype that’s surrounding the Lions, it does seem fair enough to say that Hutchinson is acknowledging the hype as something that can inspire the squad to perform at a high level, and when it is all said and done, hopefully end up with a championship at the end of the day.

A Year of Success

The past few years have been a laugh for many critics in the game – until the Lions went on to secure a wild card spot by defeating the Los Angeles Rams and then beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Playoffs. Dan Campbell’s boys fell short of putting up a massive campaign when they fell to the San Francisco 49ers in a 34-31 loss. Still, the 2023 run showed the massive potential that the Lions can deliver on the big stage when given a chance.

The Lions ended their 30-year drought after claiming its first division title since 1993, which marked the ninth time in the history of the franchise that Detroit actually won a division title. They did actually won back-to-back division titles, which dates all the way back to the 1953-54 seasons. It was unlikely that the team was expected to make waves on the big stage, and while there were glimmers of hope in the past few years where they managed to come up with big strides, only to come up short.

The previous season was proof that the Lions are now capable of contending at the highest level. Dan Campbell and Detroit GM Brad Holmes has certainly built a promising roster that can last and contend for the years to come.

Hutchinson’s Confidence

Hutchinson believes that Detroit competing for its first-ever Super Bowl appearance is inspiring all the hype that the team is seeing at this point. Back then, the expectation was just to qualify for a wild card spot, then became a division title, and now a conference title en route to the big stage.

"It's unreal. There's a lot of hype coming into this year, but I think it's well-deserved hype," said Hutchinson. "I think a lot more guys on our team understand what this year is, and we understand what we got and we're all ready. I think everyone has put everything into this upcoming year, and I feel like for the years to come as well, because it's not our last year we're all playing. There's a lot of great players on this team, and I think we could just have repeated success over the next few years."

However, the Lions will have to brave the odds and try their best in putting up impressive performances. After all, one can take note of the fact that the Lions have never appeared in the playoffs in back-to-back years since the Wayne Fontes heyday of 1994-95. Those are the odds that Hutchinson and the rest of the squad has to beat at this point.