Since losing in Week 1 to the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions have roared back with three straight wins, and superfan Keegan-Michael Key thinks they have a chance to win the NFC North.
Speaking to ClutchPoints days after the Lions dominated the Baltimore Ravens with 224 rushing yards, Key expressed his excitement for the team. The win against Baltimore could propel them to new heights, especially since some fans, potentially including himself, didn't think they'd win the game.
“We all had that chalked up as one of our losses this year,” Key conceded. “So I thought we're gonna go 10-7 [or] 11-6. With the way things have shaken out, we can win our next game against Cleveland. There's no Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, [so] we could win that game.
“Games that we were looking at [as] really tough or chalking up as losses now could be wins,” he continued. “We could be looking at a 12 or 13-win season, maybe we win our division.”
Still, it will be a fight with the Packers. Key thinks they can still overcome their division rivals. “I mean, the Packers look very strong right now,” he said before their 40-40 tie with the Dallas Cowboys. “But who knows?”
Keegan-Michael Key on the Lions' recent “magical” success
Since Dan Campbell took over as the Lions' head coach, the team has been on the brink of a Super Bowl on several occasions. In 2024, the Lions went 15-2 in the regular season, which Key called a “Cinderella situation.”
“It was really magical,” he reflected. “Other than the Patriots, you don't see people winning that many games that often, and I've kind of coasted back into reality. We've got a very, very tough schedule [in 2025].”
The Lions' recent success helps Key relate to Mark Wahlberg, his co-star in Play Dirty. Wahlberg told ClutchPoints that he was “enjoying” the New England Patriots being bad in recent years. He didn't have to be anxious every Sunday like he did when Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were at the height of their powers.
“I'm starting to understand that tension and that anxiety that Mark was feeling,” he said. “I'm starting to feel like I just have to wake up in the morning and go, Well, let's at least embrace the heartache.”
He had to do just that when the Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the 2024 playoffs. Key takes a glass-half-full approach to these losses.
“At least it really hurts this time because it was worth something,” he said optimistically. “There were actual stakes, because our culture has turned around.
“I'm trying to turn some lemons into lemonade, if you will,” he acknowledged. “But it's devastating. Last year was a smack in the face. I did not see that loss coming to Washington the way it did. That was terrible.”
As Key noted, the Lions will face the Joe Burrow-less Bengals in Week 5. They then have a date with the Kansas City Chiefs, who are finding their groove after two straight wins, on Sunday Night Football in Week 6.
