Lions Look to End 70-Year Wait as NFL’s Top Scoring Team

The Detroit Lions have a difficult history maligned with pitiful offenses and defenses that found it difficult to lead the league in much of anything except negative stats.

But things are different with the Motor City franchise in 2024. The team has been hitting a streak of milestones throughout the season, ticking off accomplishments that haven't been matched in many decades.

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There's one stat that has gotten overlooked, but even with the history of the franchise, it's surprising it didn't happen at any other point in the past 70 years: lead the NFL in scoring.

In 1954, the Bobby Layne-led Lions led the NFL in points, falling in the NFL Championship Game, missing on the opportunity to three-peat as champions. That timeline eventually bled its way toward the supposed curse Bobby Layne placed on the franchise.

One more sign that the said curse has been lifted could be realized this season as the Lions are currently just four points behind the Baltimore Ravens for most points scored in the NFL this season.

Considering the past talents of Hall of Fame players like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford, the Lions never seemed to score quite as many points to go along with their absurd yardage gains.

But this season has been different. Jared Goff's offense has put up at least 50 points twice this season and has scored at least 20 points in every win to this point in the season.

Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Detroit Lions have only placed in the top 3 in scoring once: the 1970 season, the same year as the merger.

The Lions look like the total package on the offensive side of the ball and have a favorable enough schedule down the stretch to have a shot at being the highest-scoring team in all of football.

Of course, it's not the most important prize. The Lions appear to be true Super Bowl contenders - for the first time in franchise history, Detroit is the betting favorite to win it all. But such a prolific offense will do that sort of thing for a franchise.