Chances are that Dan Campbell probably doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about his team’s TV assessments, but if the Detroit Lions head coach needs something to entertain the coffee with while placing his a. m. Coffee purchase, let it be known that the No. 1 is Dan Campbell. The major national draw for the National Football League is the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Lions closed out the typical year as the most-watched NFL company after more years than most of us have been sentient, as you may have already heard it. Over the course of 10 wild and woolly national TV times, Campbell’s costs scared up 22.6 million visitors per game, edging the persistent scores grand in Dallas by some 175, 000 ideas. Yes, those Cats. The same group that was once only allowed a couple of national windows ( a pittance in comparison to the Cowboys ‘ typical dose of 11 big dates ) is now the most favored team on the tube. Dallas put up a great battle, and the Chiefs hung around there for the better part of the time, but in 2024, nothing could throw a sleeve on the high-scoring, thrill-seeking number from the Motor City.
Anyone who has spent a few hours with this group will understand why Detroit is the rage of the community ad revenue audience, no matter how shocking the Lions ‘ ascent may seem—they’re basically putting up peak Friends amounts after decades of being remanded to a 3 a.m. advertisement slot. The Lions ‘ drawing power is largely self-explanatory if it’s axiomatic that florid bursts of scoring are enjoyable to watch and that said fun makes for a better viewing experience. With its regular season scoring 564 points, Detroit burned out more scoreboard lights than any other franchise, excluding the 2013 Broncos. ( Denver’s 606-point spree was powered by Peyton Manning’s Madden-on-Rookie-Mode run, the 37-year-old connected on 55 regular-season touchdown passes before the Seahawks brought him back down to earth in Super Bowl XLVIII. ) A touchdown and a field goal, which were better than the league average ( 29.2 % ), gave the Lions a 45 % advantage over the rest of the field. Their average tally of 33.2 points per game was better than the league average ( 29.2 % ). Detroit’s scoring differential was similarly overwhelming at + 222. And while the next batch of runners-up is plenty scary, the Lions are playing in rare air. Philly cranked out a + 160 point differential, edging the Bills and Ravens at + 157 each. In the course of a franchise-best 15-2 stampede, Detroit’s average margin of victory was 15.5 points per game, and while that stat was padded by a full AFC South slate—the Lions crushed the quartet 154-49—nobody in their right mind would have expected Campbell to take his foot off the gas. Ah, Dan Campbell. Since Rex Ryan stayed on the back page of the New York Post for the better part of five years, Campbell is undoubtedly the most compelling player to wear a metaphorical whistle around his neck, if it’s a stretch to say that most people watch the Lions to keep an eye on their maniac coach. Dan Campbell has an oddly high affinity for the titular excavator from the classic children’s book Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, as well as his striking resemblance to Louise from the classic children’s book Mike Mulligan and his propensity for going for it on fourth down. We probably need to be focusing on that middle section of this, because it’s not as though Campbell brings his dogs to the games. ( For one thing, there’s a non-zero chance that man-mountain offensive tackle Dan Skipper would try to eat the little monsters. ) The fourth-down factor is a significant component of what makes the Lions a Must-See TV, putting aside the delightful contradiction between the coach who once promised to bite off people’s kneecaps and his miniature companions. Since Campbell gave his first patella-gnawing speech in 2021, Detroit has attempted more fourth-down conversions ( 151 ) than any other NFL team. Dan Campbell says something like,” This isn’t Oprah’s goddamn reading club,” when the book says “punt.” It’s not so much that Campbell is aggressive as he’s always thumbing his nose in the face of statistical probability and good horse sense. A throw pillow with the saying” Overthinking things will kill you faster than Chinese toothpaste” is probably embroidered on someplace inside his home. The pillow is sodden with Thelma and Louise’s slobber, but that’s none of your business. The Lions this season have converted on 66.7 % of their fourth-down chances, good for seventh among all 32 teams, but Campbell’s perceived recklessness has served as a sort of engraved invitation for the naysayers. ” Don’t put Dan Campbell on my sideline”, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi groused during an on-air segment last month. ” I don’t know the emotional control of this coach. I mean, every single time? Does it have to happen every single time? Counterpoint: Sounds like someone has let himself get a little soft. Get in there and chew on some kneecaps, Tedy—or would you rather read a book? Ah, hell: Maybe Tedy’s right. When the ref turns the down marker and everyone stares at the big orange” 4″, it might be the bastard spawn of Henry Rollins and Tony Robbins. Maybe 820 mg of caffeine is too much go-juice for a mere mortal, and maybe the Lions would be better off with a coach who doesn’t Kool-Aid Man his way through every short-yardage situation. And, sure, maybe it’s weird that Campbell calls his players things like” a frickin’ serpent” and” the spider of death”. Maybe. Or maybe Dan Campbell’s onto something here. The Lions are 9.5-point home favorites against the Commanders, who ( for what it’s worth ) have converted on 87 % of their fourth-down attempts. When Eisenhower was president and Bill Belichick was still sporting footy pajamas, 68 years ago, when Detroit won the NFL title. If Campbell can pull it off, Ford will likely go by the name of a minivan after him. It will be the only minivan that can pop wheelies on the American auto market. Imagine having to do the dishes after that parade. As we approach the weekend, Detroit is not only the most watchable team in the NFL, but even their long-suffering fan base seems more invested than ever. Only nine teams managed to gain a larger fan base in their home markets this season, but Dan Campbell’s Lions saw a 10 % increase in local ratings. Only one other team, the Houston Texans, managed a bigger year-over-year boost. The thing that makes these Lions such a compelling story is probably that they haven’t been around long enough for everyone to have grown sick of them. If the Chiefs ‘ watery ubiquity had led to a collective desire to move on to something new, something less workaday, as a Taylor Swift song I had to Google suggested, familiarity breeds discontent. Even Jake from State Farm gets paid to hang out with these guys because he seems bored with them. The Detroit Lions are your regular-season ratings champs, regardless of how things turn out over the coming weeks. If Campbell’s crew winds up winning the Lombardi Trophy next year, it might be difficult for any team to dislodge them from the top slot unless the Coach Prime to Dallas or Las Vegas rumors pan out.

In which case: Time to join that book club.