There was a time long ago, maybe before some of our readers were even born, when the Detroit Lions were in the class of the league when it came to running the ball. All the way back in those Barry Sanders days. The Lions were perennially in the top half of the league in rushing yards. Then Barry Sanders retired. 

Since Barry Sanders retirement, It's been a long hard road for the Lions. They've gone through several different groups and several different offensive lines. They just couldn't get it right for the long time. 

In 2023 they have a chance to do something they haven't done in 25 years. Finish in the top half of the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns for a second season in a row. 

Let's break it down a little bit before we really get into it. Let's take a look back at the last 25 years. Settle in everyone. This is going to hurt a little bit. 

Year	Rushing Yards	Rushing Touchdowns
2022	11th	3rd
2021	19th	26th
2020	30th	14th
2019	21st	30th
2018	23rd	25th
2017	32nd	21st
2016	30th	26th
2015	32nd	23rd
2014	28th	19th
2013	17th	11th
2012	23rd	8th
2011	29th	24th
2010	23rd	18th
2009	24th	22nd
2008	30th	25th
2007	31st	13th
2006	32nd	23rd
2005	26th	24th
2004	19th	30th
2003	32nd	30th
2002	29th	26th
2001	28th	26th
2000	20th	10th
1999	28th	25th
1998	10th	15th
1997	2nd	4th

As you can see, it's been pretty bad. The last time this team had a chance to have back to back good seasons on the ground was in 2014. The Lions were coming off a nice 2013 season with Reggie Bush and Joique Bell in the back field. Both players would deal with injuries and wind up playing a lot worse when they were healthy. Other than that, it's been all stops and starts.

The Lions have a chance to finally take this very long drought out to the desert and bury it for a few reasons. 

The first one is that this might be the best running back duo this team has had in the last 25 years. I realize the craziness of saying that before even seeing them play together, but David Montgomery is a phenomenal running back and for the first time in his career, he can be a phenomenal running back behind one of the best offensive lines in the game.

Along with him is Jahmyr Gibbs. The 12th overall pick is a monster in space. Look for Gibbs to get plenty of pitches or outside runs. He's going to eat. He's going to eat more in the pass game, but he'll eat on the ground too. 

Then there's Mohamed Ibrahim. I'm jumping the gun here, but I believe that the Lions have their goal line and short yardage bruiser in Ibrahim, and he's going to nicely round out a tough group. 

Another big reason is that the Lions don't have to switch up their identity like they have in the past. This is a team that switched coaches and coordinators a lot in the last 25 years. While they did switch players this time, they have the guys that designed last years run game with success. The Lions have been a team that likes to run the ball under Campbell and they will continue to do so. 

The final reason is that the NFC North is the worst division in the league when it comes to stopping the run. All three of the Lions division rivals finished in the top 15 in the league in rushing yards allowed and rushing touchdowns allowed in 2022. I'm not sure any of these teams did much to make sure that doesn't happen again in 2023. That's six games that can help the Lions get it done right there.

Can the Lions finally end this drought and make their run game something that can always be relied upon? We'll see very soon. 

Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK