The Detroit Lions surprised a lot of people throughout the entirety of the 2022-23 NFL season.
Although they ultimately ended up missing the playoffs, it wasn’t by much. Thanks to eight victories in their last 10 games the Lions came within a Seattle Seahawks victory of qualifying for the postseason.
More importantly, an offense that looked pretty weak heading into the year somehow transformed into one of the highest scoring in the entire NFL.
Jared Goff, who was primarily known for being the guy who the L.A. Rams needed to get rid of in order to win a Super Bowl and his girlfriend’s provocative photos, cobbled together a career year and cemented himself as a reliable quarterback for the near term.
Nobody saw that coming.
As good as Goff and Detroit’s offense looked, one part of the franchise looked even better – the team’s dancers.
One Lions cheerleader in particular caused something of a stir this week with her wild photos.
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The dancer in question, Bella, has nearly 6,000 followers across social media at the moment. That total will inevitably increase substantially as the NFL season nears.
Bella obviously isn’t the only cheerleader to blow up in this fashion recently. A Rams dancer also went mega-viral this week over her racy pictures, as did a Seattle Seahawks dancer.
Cheerleading aside, it will be interesting to see what the Lions are able to do in 2023-24. A lot of people weren’t sure about Dan Campbell’s kooky ways, and the team’s 1-6 start to last season didn’t help, but he definitely righted the ship midway through.
The big question is going to be whether the defense will show up next year. And a lot of that will depend on Cameron Sutton and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Aside from a good turnover differential, Detroit’s defense was plain awful. The team ranked 28th in scoring and allowed 25.1 points per outing. Many thought they would address this issue early in the first-round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but instead the Lions took Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Another reason to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars next season. https://t.co/DSyE5Jz54T
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 5, 2023
Fortunately, a few picks later they circled back and nabbed Jack Campbell out of Iowa, too. An off-ball linebacker may not have been what everyone was anticipating for Detroit, but if he turns into Fred Warner, then obviously that won’t matter.
Either way, it’s hard to see how this group’s defense could be any worse next season. Up is the only way to go.
This promises to be a fascinating year for the Lions. And whether they end up being good or bad, the team’s cheerleaders will still be there rooting them on every step of the way.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
