Nate Burleson: Detroit Lions 'exorcised some of the demons' that have haunted them for years

LAS VEGAS — For his first Super Bowl broadcast, Nate Burleson thought for sure he was going to be joined by his old team.

Burleson, the former Detroit Lions wide receiver, will wear a number of hats for CBS during Sunday's Super Bowl 58 between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

He'll analyze the game in his regular role on the pregame show. He'll host an alternate broadcast of the game on the children-themed station Nickelodeon, which is owned by CBS parent company Paramount. He'll talk about the game again Monday on "CBS Mornings."

And had the Lions beaten the 49ers in the NFC championship game, Burleson said he would have been doing it all through Honolulu-blue colored glasses.

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"My heart was racing thinking about the idea of me having the Super Bowl with the Detroit Lions playing in it," Burleson told the Free Press earlier this week. "I knew if that happened, I was going to have to add a few more responsibilities cause I’m a homer all the way. I’m working for the Lions at that point. I almost — I almost called and tried to get on the roster so I can get a ring."

Burleson, who played four seasons for the Lions in 2010-13, is one of several alums of the team who said this week they felt a sense of pride watching the Lions win their first two playoff games since 1991 and reach the NFC championship game for the second time in franchise history.

The Lions lost to the 49ers, 34-31, one win short of the Super Bowl.

"This is a great young team and organization and hats off to Coach (Dan) Campbell and Brad Holmes, what they’ve been able to do, and Sheila (Hamp)," Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders said. "And now I think you kind of have a little bit of a blueprint what it takes. It’s not an accident that you see a lot of these teams playing in this game, a lot of the franchises. So I think we’re learning that."

"We weren’t able to do it when we were there, but for me I look at it as we laid the foundation," former Lions linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. "We showed what it could be when you really get that time to put something together and they have something. What Campbell’s done with the guys and with the team, it’s commendable."

Burleson said this season was the next step in one day reaching a Super Bowl for the Lions, who have improved from 3-13-1 to 9-8 to 12-5 in three seasons under Campbell.

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This year, the Lions won a division title for the first time since 1993 and led the 49ers, 24-7, before stumbling in the second half of the conference title game.

"I think this is, it’s an important stage to be here and if they can build on this, I think the Lions are going to be just fine," Burleson said. "I mean, the division is theirs."

While the Green Bay Packers with Jordan Love at quarterback, the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 overall pick and the Minnesota Vikings, if Kirk Cousins returns, might have something to say about that, Burleson said he considers this season a success for a team that made one playoff appearance and went a combined 27-37 in his four years in Detroit.

"Detroit Lions had one hell of a year," Burleson said. "People are talking about the Lions and they’re saying, 'Oh, what a disappointment.' I don’t see it that way. Such a good season, everything that Dan Campbell is trying to do to help turn this program around, it worked. I think if you look at it optimistically, they exorcised some of the demons that we’ve been trying to for decades now, or the team was dominant. There were moments where they were the best team in football."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Detroit Lions take pride in what team accomplished this season