Pride of Detroit
Several NFL power ranking analysts wrote the Detroit Lions off after a difficult Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers. But after the Lions smashed the Chicago Bears 52-21 in Week 2—dispelling many of the national narratives created during the offseason—most of those analysts had to walk back their initial judgments when putting out their latest rankings.
Let’s take a look at where the Lions land in the NFL’s Week 3 power rankings.
The Lions came back from a down Week 1 to log the most efficient afternoon in team history. A stunning 8.8 yards per play have drastically cleared the skepticism around Ben Johnson’s replacement, John Morton. While we live in a week-to-week world held prisoner by the moment, understanding that Morton can completely undress a team run by Johnson himself—and that Lions players are rallying relentlessly around Morton—means a great deal.
Maybe, just maybe, the Lions’ struggles were due more to the Packers than their own issues. Detroit looked great Sunday. They’ll be fine. Week 1’s result just said way more about the Packers, and that is still something the Lions have to contend with.
From ESPN Staff, excerpt from Eric Woodyard:
It goes without saying that the Lions struggled at Green Bay, but Week 2 reminded the world that Goff and the Lions can still be dominant. Goff became the first quarterback in Lions history with an 80% completion percentage and five passing touchdowns in a game, while also passing Bobby Layne (118) for the second-most passing touchdowns in franchise history. If he receives solid protection from an offensive line that’s still adjusting to new players, there shouldn’t be a drop-off for Goff in his 10th NFL season.
I imagine the mood at Detroit’s press conferences will be a lot less tense this week after a 31-point bludgeoning of Chicago—a game in which the Lions both beat a division rival and stuck it to their former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in the process. Quarterback Jared Goff was back to his machine-like efficiency, the run game had its juice again, and on defense, the pass rush affected Caleb Williams in a way it couldn’t against Jordan Love a week ago.
It’s still too early to sort out whether Detroit belongs among the NFL’s elite, but one thing is for sure: It’s still one of the few teams in the league that can run opponents off the field on any given Sunday
The Lions appeared to act as if Ben Johnson was a traitor who must be dealt with accordingly, and he certainly took a beating from his former team, watching the monstrous offense he helped build crush Chicago’s defense on Sunday. On six straight possessions...
