The 2023 Detroit Lions season was filled with a lot of special moments. From the season’s first victory at
Arrowhead to the heartache at Levi’s Stadium, each week offered thrills, turns on the emotional spectrum, and
lifelong memories.
It’s time to present the 2023 Game of the Year winner as part of our Pride of Detroit yearly awards. But first, make
sure to check out our previous awards.
Past honors (voting is still open):
Breakthrough Player of the Year: Exclusive Groups MVP, All-Star, Head Coach, and Rookie of the Year
Our choices for Game of the Year are as follows. Remember to vote by scrolling down to the bottom of the post.
Seven Lions games which says a lot about the amazing run Detroit has had in the last 12 months. However, the
Lions’ Wild Card playoff victory over the Rams was the one with the strongest storylines (30-year postseason
drought), the highest barriers (Stafford and McVay), and the biggest payoff (creating a new national narrative).
Never felt victory formation so good. Is this the easiest thing to do? That may be the case, but I can’t think of a
better game played this season, especially because it was the Lions’ first postseason victory in thirty-two years and
against the former quarterback, Matthew Stafford. This team not only ended their lack of postseason victories, but
I think it also helped dispel long-held myths about Jared Goff, Dan Campbell, the supporters, and Detroit as a
whole.
Rams vs. Lions is the game to watch. It was not only a timeless suspense thriller, but you also don’t often see such
intricate plots encircling a game with such high stakes. It was their greatest game in a decade or more, if not
longer, and it meant a great deal to you, me, and the entire city of Detroit.
Morgan Cannon: Wild Card Game: Lions vs. Rams
This game was all I could have imagined being felt, and the atmosphere at Ford Field was unmatched by anything
I had ever witnessed. As soon as you entered the building from the concourse, you could feel the intensity there.
Ford Field hosted its first-ever Lions playoff game. An NBA playoff matchup with former QB Matthew Stafford. A
match that was decided by a narrow margin. After their first playoff appearance since 1992, Detroit won. Although
it wasn’t the most spectacular of the Lions’ wins this season, its significance places it among the greatest in the
team’s history. After years of not being able to witness it, the playoff victory was the main thing I wanted to see
this year, and the task was accomplished. much though I love Stafford, it was too perfect to defeat him and usher
in the new Lions era. It was much more sweeter to accomplish it against him. The playoff victory cemented the
change, even though the team’s 12 victories this season gave me hope. Nothing I have ever watched or felt like this
game, even though it was the best of times and the worst of times. It was football heaven in the first half. Do you
recall how you felt during that drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter of the Packers vs. TNF game in Week 4?
Eight minutes and 52 seconds, 14 plays, 75 yards, and a blatant display of “we’re more physical than you, and we
want it more than you.” There hasn’t been a football game like that in my experience, even when the bottom came
out and the turd quarter burned off their wings, preventing them from reaching their goal.
Even though a Lions vs. Rams game will never be the same, Christmas Eve marked the true beginning of this
season. There were still lingering suspicions following Detroit’s midseason setbacks that the Lions might win the
division with a possibly difficult final three games. However, Ifeatu Melifonwu was determined not to allow the
Vikings to spoil their vacation. And it was a truly unique moment for all of us to feel as Detroit won their first
division title in thirty years and knew they would soon play a playoff game at home. I was fortunate enough to
have loved ones with me at the moment, and I will always remember that.
