Lions prepare for Sunday night rematch against Matthew Stafford and the Rams

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions know they need to put the 2023 season behind them and focus on 2024.

It won’t be easy.

Detroit opens the season Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of their January wild-card game — won by the Lions for the franchise’s first playoff victory in 40 years.

It was another night game on national television and another encounter with the symbol of the Lions before Dan Campbell – Matthew Stafford. Booed on every play, Stafford dominated his former team, passing for 367 yards and two touchdowns, but Detroit came away with a 24-23 victory.

The Lions then beat Tampa Bay before blowing a big lead to San Francisco in the NFC Championship.

Eight months later, it is the Rams who are there again.

“It doesn’t get any better than that, really,” Campbell said Monday. “The hard part is we still have seven days to go, but I’m excited, the staff is excited, the players are excited, and I know our fans are ready to get going.”

Last time around, many fans talked about their respect for Stafford, the best quarterback in franchise history, and insisted they were booing him only because of the magnitude of the situation. The idea was that the Rams would come to Detroit for a regular-season game and he would get the kind of response that former Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander gets when he returns to Comerica Park.

That probably won’t happen Sunday night in Week 1; there’s still the player they need to stop.

Rams coach Sean McVay “changed the way they traditionally played last year a little bit. They’re a little bit more top-down,” said Campbell, who is entering his fourth season as the Lions’ coach. “That’s allowed Stafford to hit and do what he does best, which is a winning formula. We definitely have to be tough and ready to attack.”

The good news for the Lions is that the Rams no longer have a Hall of Famer in the middle of their defense. Aaron Donald’s retirement at age 32 ends many sleepless nights for offensive coordinators.

“You always had to be aware of him, you had to know where he was at all times,” Campbell said. “You were moving and making moves just for him, and you’re doing that almost every play, plus you’re trying to chip to one side so the tackle can help the guard who can help the center with Donald.

“It’s nice not to have to worry about him.”

The Lions have never played in the Super Bowl — their last appearance in an NFL title game was in 1957 — but Campbell is clear that Sunday will be the next step in achieving that goal.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said. “The first step is winning the division, and once you do that, it’s about ranking. You want to be the third seed, the second seed, or even the first seed? You have to start winning head-to-head games, and this is an NFC opponent that could win the West.”

“It’s still a long way off, but that’s when you start putting it together.”