Last year, the Detroit Lions were the focus of HBO's series Hard Knox. And by all accounts, they look like favorites, then, to be extremely competitive in the 2022 season. Sadly, the start of the season wasn't what Lions fans expected, including lifelong Michigander Jeff Daniels.

So, he was invited onto an episode of Peyton Manning's show "Peyton's Place," around halfway through last season, to try and exercise a curse that may have been holding Detroit back... and it seems like it might have actually worked.

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The Curse of Bobby Layne

An Urban Legend in the NFL, the Curse of Bobby Layne dates back to the 1958 NFL season. The Lions had just inexplicably traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Layne was FURIOUS. He was one of the greatest quarterbacks in the league, who helped the Lions win THREE TITLES... and they traded him for a prospect, and some draft picks.

That day, the curse was born, and teammates and beat writers remember his demeanor as he cleaned out his locker. And with one glance back into the locker room, he delivered his parting line....

"This team will not win for another 50 years."

Since then, the Lions have only won ONE playoff game, Jan. 5, 1992, against the Dallas Cowboys. But they've never been any further since Layne's Curse.

Breaking the Curse

It's been 65 years since the Curse of Bobby Layne, and the Lions have built a personality of "Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory." Only ONE Playoff victory in 1992, since the curse of Bobby Layne was laid in Detroit.

Last season, Dan Campbell set a new bar for the "Same Old Lions," and expected nothing but progress from his team. But about halfway through the season, they were still struggling, with only one win.

Enter, Peyton Manning, Jeff Daniels, and a bathtub full of whiskey.

According to Manning, to break a curse, you use a spell that involves filling a bathtub with 100 cups of water, and a cup of salt. But, for the sake of Bobby Layne, they decided to use Whiskey instead of water.

"Bobby Layne would have preferred that."

Since that segment aired, the Lions have been on a tear, going 12-3, including three straight wins over the Green Bay Packers (twice while Rogers was still in Green Bay).

So after 65 years, it seems that the Lions time has come. They've got a two-game lead on the Packers in the division, and are currently third in the entire NFC. So has enough time passed, and did Peyton and Jeff's bathtub whiskey spell work?

One step at a time Lions fans. Deep, slow breaths. It's still a long season.