2023 Detroit Lions awards: Game of the Year (2024)

The Detroit Lions’ 2023 season was full of so many unforgettable moments. From the season opening win at Arrowhead to the heartbreak at Levi’s Stadium, every week provided entertainment, emotional swings, and memories to last a lifetime.

As we continue our Pride of Detroit annual awards, it’s time to hand out the 2023 Game of the Year award. But before we get into it, catch up on our other awards here.

Previous awards (voting still open):

• Breakout Player of the Year
• Special Teams Player of the Year
• Coach of the Year
• Rookie of the Year

Here are our nominations for Game of the Year. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the post to cast your votes.

2023 Detroit Lions Game of the Year

Erik Schlitt: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

Currently, there are seven Lions games on my DVR that I have watched easily more than five times, which speaks to the incredible run of games Detroit has put together over the past year. But the one with the best storylines (30-year playoff drought), the biggest obstacles in their way (Stafford and McVay), and the biggest reward (establishing a new national narrative) was the Lions Wild Card playoff win over the Rams. Victory formation never felt so sweet.

Meko Scott: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

Is this low hanging fruit? It might be, but considering it was the Lions first playoff win in 32 years and against the former QB in Matthew Stafford I just can’t think of a bigger game done the season. Not only did this team put an end to their playoff win drought, but I believe it helped erase old narratives about Jared Goff, Dan Campbell, the fan base, and the city of Detroit as a whole.

Hamza Baccouche: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

Lions vs. Rams has to be the pick. Not only was it a classic nailbiter, but you rarely get such deep storylines wrapping around such a high-stakes game. It meant so much to me, to you, and to the whole city of Detroit, and it was their biggest game in at least a decade, if not much longer.

Morgan Cannon: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

This game hit every single emotion in the book, and the atmosphere inside of Ford Field was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. You could sense the energy in the building from the moment you stepped inside from the concourse.

John Whiticar: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

The first ever Lions playoff game at Ford Field. A playoff game against former quarterback Matthew Stafford. A game that came down to the wire. A win that gave Detroit their first playoff since 1992. It wasn’t the prettiest of the Lions’ victories this season, but the magnitude of it puts it in the upper echelon of historic moments in Lions history.

Brandon Knapp: Lions vs. Rams in Wild Card

The main thing I wanted to see this year was a playoff win after years of not being able to see it and the job was done. It was even sweeter to do it against Stafford, and as much as I am a fan of him, it was too perfect to defeat him to move on into the new era of the Lions. While there were 12 wins this season that made me believe the change is real, the playoff win sealed the deal.

Ryan Mathews: Lions vs. 49ers in NFC Championship

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but nothing in my football-watching life ever looked or felt like this game. The first half was football nirvana. Remember the feeling you had during that drive at the start of the fourth quarter during Week 4’s TNF matchup against the Packers? 14 plays, 75 yards, and eight minutes and 52 seconds of pure “we’re more physical than you, and we want it more than you.” Sure, the bottom fell out, the turd quarter burned up their wings and left them short of their intended destination, but at the end of it, there hasn’t been a football game like it in my lifetime.

Jeremy Reisman: Lions clinch division vs. Vikings

While there will never be a game like Lions vs. Rams ever again, the moment this season actually became real was Christmas Eve. After Detroit’s midseason struggles, there were still latent beliefs that the Lions could blow the division with a potentially tough three-game stretch to finish the season. But Ifeatu Melifonwu was not going to let the Vikings ruin their holiday trip. And that feeling we all experienced as Detroit clinched their first division title in 30 years, knowing a home playoff game was on the way, was an absolutely special moment. Personally, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by loved ones at the time, and I’ll never forget it.