Saturday open thread: When will the Lions break their playoff win drought?

Friday night saw the end of one of the most impressive streaks in sports history. The UConn women’s basketball team, who had won 111 straight games, finally lost at the hands of Mississippi State, thanks to a buzzer-beating shot in overtime. This was the first loss suffered by UConn since 2014.

The Detroit Lions, on the other hand, suffer from one of the infamous streaks. The team has now gone 25 years without a playoff victory, the second-longest current drought in the NFL (the Cincinnati Bengals are at 26 years and counting).

However, change appears to be on the horizon. The Lions have made the postseason in two of their past three seasons, and while both playoff runs ended in a familiar way, general optimism surrounding Detroit seems to be at its highest in years—and not just because it’s the offseason.

So today Question of the Day is:

How long will it take for the Detroit Lions to break their winless streak in the playoffs?

My answer: 3-5 years. While I think the Lions are certainly headed in the right direction on a long-term level, I still think they’re a ways away. I don’t think Detroit can do enough this offseason to really make a push for a playoff run in 2017, though I certainly think it’s possible in 2018. However, I have to give the Lions an extra cushion of a year or so, because this is the Lions we’re talking about. Murphy’s Law, yada yada yada.

That all being said, I’m confident enough in the job Bob Quinn is doing that not only do I think the Lions will win a playoff game in the next five years, but I’d actually be shocked if they don’t. I think with the quarterback play they’re getting out of Matthew Stafford and the promising moves being made by Quinn, there is absolutely no reason why this team shouldn’t be in the conversation for a deep playoff run in the near future. I’m not just talking about a playoff win here, I’m talking about... well, I won’t say it, but you know what I’m talking about.

Your turn.