Rob “Lion Eyes” Gonzales stood on a swath of the turf from Pontiac Silverdome in his basement, sporting his signature shades with blue frames and leaping lions on silver lenses that obstruct his view.

A year after being excited about making the playoffs, Lions fans now want to go all the way to the Super Bowl.

Not at ear-splitting Ford Field, where the Detroit locals were so starved for a first-ever Super Bowl team they were going to go hoarse willing their Lions to New Orleans. This wasn’t supposed to happen to this Lions team that had gone 15-2 and earned the No. 1 NFC seed — one-and-done in the postseason.

The Commanders, 4-13 a season ago, are one win from the Super Bowl after upsetting the top-seeded Lions on their home field.

The Detroit Lions lost 45-31 to the Washington Commanders on Saturday night, ending their dominant 2024-25 season in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Lions fell short of their postseason performance from last season,