Hard Knocks Curse: Detroit Lions show debuts tonight on HBO, no featured team has reached Super Bowl

HBO's excellent "Hard Knocks" show makes its 2022 debut tonight and will feature the Detroit Lions for the first time. Is there a Hard Knocks Curse? No team has reached the Super Bowl in the season it was featured, and the Lions never have played in the big game – the only NFC team not to. That drought seems likely to continue with Detroit at +6000 to win the conference title.

There actually had been something of a Hard Knocks Curse when it came to simply making the playoffs. The Houston Texans were featured in 2015 and made the postseason but no team did again until 2020 when the Rams were a Wild-Card club and reached the Divisional Round, losing in Green Bay. The Chargers also were featured that year and missed the playoffs. Dallas was the 2021 Hard Knocks team and won the NFC East but was upset at home in the Wild-Card round by Washington.  

If a team doesn't volunteer for Hard Knocks, the NFL will pick one, and it must meet the following requirements to be selected: A head coach who's not in his first year; hasn't made the playoffs in the previous two seasons; and hasn't been featured on the program within the last 10 seasons. Detroit is the first NFC North team on the program. Thirty-five crew members arrived in Motown on July 23, setting up at the Lions' practice facility and filming practice for the upcoming season.

There is a lot of excitement around coach Dan Campbell's Lions this season: BetMGM's biggest liability to win the NFC title is on Detroit, and there has been a huge Over 6.0 wins lean at Caesars Sportsbook. The Lions are +450 to make the playoffs and only seven of the 17 teams featured on the preseason Hard Knocks have made the postseason. Since Detroit doesn't have a night game scheduled after a 3-13-1 season, this could be the Lions' only prime-time appearance. The team's only scheduled national TV appearance is the annual first game on Thanksgiving. 

HBO started an in-season Hard Knocks last year and featured the Colts; this year, it will be the Cardinals starting in November.

Hard Knocks same season results (preseason show only)

• 2001 Ravens: 10-6, lost in Divisional Round
• 2002 Cowboys: 5-11
• 2007 Chiefs: 4-12
• 2008 Cowboys: 9-7
• 2009 Bengals: 10-6, lost in Wild-Card Round
• 2010 Jets: 11-5, lost in AFC Championship Game
• 2012 Dolphins: 7-9
• 2013 Bengals: 11-5, lost in Wild-Card Round
• 2014 Falcons: 6-10
• 2015 Texans: 9-7, lost in Wild-Card Round
• 2016: Rams: 4-12
• 2017 Bucs: 5-11
• 2018 Browns: 7-8-1
• 2019 Raiders: 7-9
• 2020 Rams: 10-6, lost in Divisional Round
• 2020 Chargers: 7-9
• 2021 Cowboys: 12-5, lost in Wild-Card Round

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