Rex Ryan on the Detroit Lions: 'This is the Most Devastating Loss of All Time'
By Liam McKeone
The Detroit Lions, despite blowing away even the most optimistic of expectations by their fanbase, still managed to crush the hearts of their faithful by blowing a 17-point lead in the second half of the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers. Everything went wrong for Detroit as the self-inflicted wounds piled up in the final 30 minutes and the Niners got lucky in the way only championship teams get lucky. The end result of making it all the way to the doorstep of the Super Bowl is still an outstanding accomplishment for these Lions but the way they fell short makes it painful nevertheless.
The loss is also serving as the kind of lightning rod for takes that we only see once in a blue moon. Rex Ryan, speaking on Get Up this morning, threw the concept of hyperbole in the trash and told his coworkers that this is actually the most devastating loss of all time.
Rex Ryan on the Lions' loss in the NFC Championship Game: "This is the most devastating loss of all-time. I've lost three championship games. You know what you get when you lose a championship game? Not a dang thing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This will haunt you for the rest… pic.twitter.com/A2eTdtmw3m
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 29, 2024
Dare I suggest that Ryan is... projecting here? Yeah, it was a tough loss. Brutal. I'd even call it devastating. But the most devastating loss of all time? This probably isn't even the most devastating loss in Detroit sports history! It could even be argued that the Baltimore Ravens losing like they did to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier on Sunday was more devastating than what happened with the Lions.
As Ryan knows well, getting that close to the precipice of history and falling short is like getting your heart ripped out. It's like that for fans and undoubtedly worse for the players and coaches who put on the game. It will haunt everybody on the Detroit side forever even if they do get back to the same spot next year. Such is the nature of losing that deep in the playoffs-- something Lions fans, even in the depths of mourning today, are surely glad to understand now.
A devastating loss, to be sure. But any wizened Michigander can rattle off others that hurt more from the last 15 years, much less going back far enough to start all-time discussions. Even with all the Dan Campbell takes flying around, Ryan might have taken the cake with the hottest one here.