Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions (8-5) got back in the win column, convincingly beating a hot Dallas Cowboys team by two touchdowns. But was that enough to sway voters to put the Lions back inside their top-10 rankings?
Let’s take a look at how things shook out in this week’s power rankings.
Detroit’s offense is finding last year’s heights again, having scored 102 points in the past three weeks in spite of injuries and attrition. We should be celebrating this major step forward and forecasting what this unit can do in the wide-open NFC playoff field—but there’s a chance that Detroit won’t get there at all.
Because of Chicago’s success this season and San Francisco’s easy road into the wild-card round, the Lions have to win out to secure their spot in the postseason. And since they have games left against the Rams, Bears, and Steelers, I’m not certain that’s a realistic ask.
As we watch the NFC South again produce a division winner that could enjoy a more advantageous path to the Super Bowl than 50% of the NFC North, I think about the withdrawn Lions proposal to give home field to only the division winner with the best record in each conference.
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
Worst-case scenario: A road playoff game
Detroit has a 39 percent chance of making the playoffs after beating Dallas, but it’s still staring at a playoff game away from home if it does make it. That could mean a trip to Philadelphia, Chicago, Green Bay or Seattle. For all of Jared Goff’s improvements, he still has a 57.7 career completion percentage outdoors when the temperature is below 50 degrees. In the last two years, he’s 22nd in the league in EPA per dropback in those conditions (0.01) compared to sixth (0.22) indoors.
It’s amazing how many good players coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes have amassed here − and a shame so many of them are sidelined. But Jahmyr Gibbs, who needs to be recognized as the league’s premier running back at this point, fortunately remains in the lineup for a team still capable of offensively overwhelming its competition.
With their backs against the wall, the Lions willed their way to victory over the Cowboys and kept alive their streak of 15 straight wins following a loss. That’s the kind of mental toughness Dan Campbell has instilled in his team, but that resilience is going to be put to the test with Brian Branch suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. The star safety is as much the heartbeat of Detroit’s defense as Aidan Hutchinson is — losing Branch at an already-thin position could be a massive blow...
