Dan Campbell’s Postgame Message To Lions Included Brutally Honest Note

The Lions had a golden opportunity to make franchise history Sunday evening, but they let it slip through their fingers.

Detroit found itself in a great position to earn its first-ever Super Bowl berth when it held a 17-point lead in the NFC Championship Game. But Dan Campbell's side wasn't able to put the final nail in San Francisco's coffin, and the 49ers rallied all the way back to win the conference title at Levi's Stadium.

Make no mistake, the future is bright in Motor City. But as Campbell candidly explained to his team after its 34-31 loss, talent doesn't guarantee success in the NFL.

"Look, I told those guys, 'This may have been our only shot,'" Campbell told reporters, per a video shared by WXYZ Detroit's Brad Galli. "Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard is to get here. I'm well aware. It's going to be twice as hard to get back to this point next year than it was this year. That's the reality. If we don't have the same hunger and the same work -- which is a whole other thing once we get to the offseason -- then we got no shot of getting back here. I don't care how much better we get, what we add, what we draft. It's irrelevant. It's going to be tough."

Oddsmakers believe the Lions have what it takes to contend for a championship again next season. As of Monday morning, Detroit had the fifth-shortest odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win Super Bowl LIX.

But in the meantime, the Lions will have to watch this year's title bout surely with the full belief that they should be the ones representing the NFC.