Pride of Detroit
By playoff seeding, the Detroit Lions are currently holding the five spot. Technically, the Green Bay Packers lead the division (and conference) with their 4-1-1 record, because a tie counts as a half win and 4.5 wins in six games is a better win percentage than five wins in seven games.
But playoff seeding is only the technical standings in the conference. Let’s talk more about opinion right now.
The NFC is littered with Super bowl contenders right now. The Packers may hold the one seed, but I would say that there are nearly a half-dozen teams in the conference who look like they’re playing better football than Green Bay right now, including the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Lions. So today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: They certainly have a case for the top spot after taking down the Buccaneers on Monday night. While, yes, the Packers did beat Detroit, they quite obviously have not looked like the better team on a week-to-week basis.
And while the 49ers’ persistence through injuries is impressive, the truth of the matter is they only have a +7 point differential. The Rams, to me, look like a pretty darn impressive team. Their offense is among the best in the league, and their defensive front is seriously impressive. They hold a solid +58 point differential, which ranks fourth in the league and second to only the Lions in the NFC. The Seahawks are right behind them at +57.
Still, I’m going to put the Lions in the top spot. Maybe it’s biases, but it just feels to me like they can win in so many different ways right now, be it a dominant defensive performance, a grind-it-out physical offensive game plan, or even on special teams. They’ve got an answer for most kinds of teams right now, and that makes them dangerous each and every week.
Behind the Lions, I would put the Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Buccaneers, Packers, and Eagles—in that order.
What does the top of the NFC look like to you? Scroll down to the comment section and share your top-five.
