It’s not about the gambling odds here on NFL Thursday: the Detroit Lions are one of the top favorites (+1200, bet $10 to win $130 total) while the Cleveland Browns are middling shot (+4000, bet $10 to win $410 total). But these are the two teams that have been around since the 1950s, at least, without having even reached a Super Bowl. So, every real football fan should be rooting for this to happen if their own team fails.

The Lions came close last year to making it for the first time, holding a 24-7 lead in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers on the road before seeing it all unravel rather quickly. Meanwhile, the Browns made the playoffs, too, but some injuries caught up with them, and the team was eliminated early in the postseason at home. But turn the page to 2024, and see what is possible …

With the two franchises combining for a 23-11 regular-season record in 2023, can they both do better in 2024? You betcha. Just remember, though, the Lions haven’t won an NFL title since 1957, and it was 1964 the last time the Browns did it. Also, there’s another twist in this plot line: Cleveland (2017) and Detroit (2008) are the only organization to post 0-16 seasons in NFL history. Yes, they’ve been that bad at times recently.

With the NFL regular season kicking off next Thursday night, we will spend the next two weeks of this column space exploring those two seasons, respectively, because in a lot of ways, they defy belief. Yet keep an eye on both these teams, because they may have a date with destiny. And if you place a parley bet on the two of them reaching the Super Bowl, maybe you could send us a little commission on that one in February.