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Lions' WR Jameson Williams Reveals Which of the Team's Losses Hurt Him the Most

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By John Vaccaro | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 5:04 PM ET

The past couple of seasons have been an undeniably positive experience for the Detroit Lions and their fans.

After years of frequently struggling as one of the NFL's worst teams, the Lions have become one of the league's best franchises in recent years.

They've won the last two NFC North titles and earned the top seed in the NFC this past season with 15 wins.

While there have been plenty of positives over the last two years, there has also been some heartbreak.

This past season ended in disappointment when the Lions were eliminated from the playoffs in the Divisional Round by the Washington Commanders.

While that was a painful ending to a season where the Lions looked like title contenders, wide receiver Jameson Williams says it wasn't the loss that has hurt him the most during his NFL career.

While recently speaking with the media at OTAs, Williams revealed that distinction actually belongs to the team's NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers.

I think people really don't realize how bad it is until you get to that game where you're one game away from the Super Bowl. That was the one that hurt us the most. What hurt me the most. I felt more hurt losing to San Francisco than I did to the Commanders because it was just one game away, one play away.

That matchup with the 49ers from the 2023 season wasn't one the Lions were expected to win, but it was a game they seemed to be in control of.

The led the matchup 24-7 at halftime, thanks in part to a 42-yard touchdown run from Williams less than two minutes into the game.

Unfortunately, things fell apart in the second half. The Lions surrendered 27 unanswered points to fall behind 34-24 in the fourth quarter.

Williams scored another touchdown, this time on a three-yard pass from Jared Goff, to cut it to a three-point game, but that marked the end of the game's scoring and the Lions missed out on the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

It's easy to see why that loss would still hurt, but the Lions can put that pain in the past this season if they are finally able to wok their way into a Super Bowl.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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