In the National Football League, the team captain designation is a team-appointed position that designates certain players as leaders on and off the field. The captains program was implemented by the NFL Player Advisory Council established by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in conjunction with the NFL Players Association. Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains.
Players who have been named a team captain typically have a "C" patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast (depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team). The number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team. If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. Some teams (i.e. Baltimore and New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. The New York Jets have not designated team captains since an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the 4th quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in 3 years. His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned.
During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color; e.g., pink for breast cancer awareness; or camouflage for military service recognition. Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as Offensive Captain.
The 2023 season is the Detroit Lions' 94th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 90th In Detroit, and their third under the head coach/general manager tandem of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes.
The Lions improved upon their 9–8 record from the previous season, after a Week 15 win against the Denver Broncos gave them their first 10-win season since 2014. The Lions finished the regular season with a 12–5 record, tying a franchise record for wins and ending up in a three-way tie with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys for the best record in the NFC.
After a win against the Chicago Bears in Week 11, the Lions started 8–2 for the first time since 1962.[1] After a Week 16 win against the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions won their first division title since 1993, and their first ever as a member of the NFC North following the NFL's division realignment in 2002.[2] This also marks their first playoff appearance since 2016. The win assured them their first home playoff game since 1993 and only their third since winning their last NFL title in 1957.
Having lost tie-breakers to both the 49ers and Cowboys, the Lions were seeded third for the NFC playoffs. In their first playoff game at Ford Field, the Lions defeated their former quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams for their first playoff victory since 1991.[3] As the Cowboys were eliminated earlier in the day, the Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round. This is the first time in franchise history the Lions will host two playoff games.
