DETROIT -- Tears rolled down the face of Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker on Christmas Eve 2023. His present had arrived early.
With his Lions teammates celebrating the franchise's first division title in three decades, the 6-foot-7, 318-pound Decker, sitting inside his stall in the visitor's locker room at Minnesota's U.S. Bank Stadium, took in the moment.
"Once it was realized, it's just a flood of emotions that you didn't even know was there," Decker explained afterwards. "Kind of an overwhelming, in a good way, experience."
For Decker, who in his ninth year is the Lions' longest-tenured player, the road to becoming NFC North champions for the first time since 1993, and later coming a win shy of the team's first Super Bowl berth, was an unforgettable experience.