The Detroit Lions enter the NFL playoffs against the Washington Commanders on Saturday night after sitting out the first round of NFC play. Detroit earned a bye for the Wild-Card Weekend by posting the conference’s best regular-season record at 15-2.

In his three seasons with the Lions, wide receiver Jameson Williams has seen the team go from almost a playoff qualifier to a third seed that reached the NFC Championship Game to the No. 1 seed. The former Alabama All-American said Detroit hadn’t lost the attitude that fueled that climb.

“I think people tend to forget, like, where we came from,” Williams said. “… People, like, just forget that we came from so far underneath and they just like think everything’s been easy and stuff like that. But you know, everybody got the same mindset. We don’t look at it like we don’t want to see: ‘Oh, we the best team.’ We still practice and go out and practice and play like we nothing. We still trying to go out there and get a win. And we still trying to go out there and play hard for our brothers next to us. I feel like people tend to just, you know, use this season to forget, like, we still got that grittiness. And it’s the playoffs, so you got to go out there and get a win or you’re going to be on the couch.”

The Lions’ climb has been reflected in Williams’ career.

In his first season, Williams missed the first nine games because of a knee injury sustained in his final game at Alabama. The No. 12 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams had a 41-yard touchdown pass and a 40-yard run as a rookie, but they came on his only touches of the season.

In 2023, Williams served an NFL-imposed gambling suspension for the first four games and finished with 24 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns and three rushing attempts for 29 yards and one touchdown in 12 regular-season games. In Detroit’s 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Williams ran 42 yards for the opening points and caught a touchdown pass with 56 seconds to play.

A two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances didn’t keep Williams from posting 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns and 11 rushing attempts for 61 yards and one touchdown in 2023.

“I got a lot of pride with him, man,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Thursday. “He’s one of those guys — man, I love that kid, and because he’s had to endure a lot. And look, some of it is his own doing, and he knows that. And that’s what I appreciate is that he’s — it took him a minute to buy into what we were doing. He can be a little hardheaded, and it’s also why you love him. It’s why I love him. But, man, he’s learned along the way, and he’s grown.

“And what I, honestly, you want to say: What is the best thing he’s done? Is that, man, when he finally, he dropped the armor, and he endeared himself to his teammates. He became part of the team, and that took place last year. That, you know, towards the end of last year, you could start to feel it. And it’s only gotten better and better and better. And every one of these that’s happened, he’s grown. He’s learning from it, and I love where he’s at. I really do. I’m proud of him.”

Campbell didn’t take credit for getting Williams headed in the right direction.

“I don’t know if I did anything about that,” Campbell said. “Look, you just, you try to tell him what’s on your mind. You try to give him the reality of the situation. Tell him what you think about him. Give him the good and the bad. Be honest with him. And tell him where you really believe he can go and what you think he is. And then the rest is up to him. And look, we’ve got an unbelievable support staff.

“He’s part of the herd now. He’s part of the stock. I mean, he’s — and that’s the best thing ever.”

Williams reached 1,000 receiving yards on a 4-yard reception from quarterback Jared Goff with 2:41 remaining in Detroit’s 31-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the final game of the NFL’s 2024 regular season.

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“It meant a lot,” Williams said. “Shout out to my coaches for forcing that on me. You know, I appreciate them a lot for that. It was huge to me and my people and my goals.

“But I’m past that, though. We got three games left. I’m trying to focus up and, you know, trying to get something on my fingers.”

The Lions and Commanders will square off at 7 p.m. CST Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. FOX will televise the game.

As the No. 1 seed, the Lions will play at home as long as they last in the NFC playoffs.

“I think it helps a lot,” Williams said. “You see it when we play at home. Our fans, they cause some false starts and delay-of-games. It helps us a lot on the defensive side. But for us to control the home-field advantage and for them to be quiet and respect us on offense, I feel like it’s good. It’s a good thing that we have that instead of it’s way better than going on the road and dealing with those type of things, so I feel like it’s good and that’s on our side for sure.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.