The Lions were humbled in their 48-42 Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills and have now fallen into a three-way tie with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings for the best record in the NFC at 12-2. The good news for the Lions is they still control the No. 1 seed, holding tiebreakers over the other two.
That said, some may think this loss helped bring the Lions back down to earth. They also continued to suffer injuries. Carlton Davis (jaw), Khalil Dorsey (broken leg) and Alim McNeill (torn ACL) all landed on the shelf Sunday. Can the Lions overcome these injuries and still make a Super Bowl run? Time will tell.
For now, let’s see which power polls across the media dropped the Lions from the top spot and whether it’s the Bills or the Eagles (or perhaps the Vikings) replacing them.
Pro Football Talk
Current rank: 5
Last week’s rank: 1
What Mike Florio had to say: “Next man up, meet Old Mother Hubbard.”
ESPN NFL Nation
Current rank: 3
Last week’s rank: 1
What Eric Woodyard had to say: “Through the first three weeks, Detroit’s offense averaged just 20.7 points and struggled, particularly in the red zone, where its efficiency ranked 26th in the NFL at 38.5%. Since Week 4, the offense has found its groove with a league-high 34.8 points per game and the NFL’s top red zone efficiency (78.7%). The success is largely due to production from running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, though Montgomery is now out indefinitely because of a sprained MCL.”
ESPN’s writers were tasked with picking the biggest area of improvement since the start of the season. For the Lions, it was red zone efficiency.
NFL.com
Current rank: 4
Last week’s rank: 1
What Eric Edholm had to say: “Really, the one thing that Detroit couldn’t afford was another round of defensive injuries — and then the Lions came out of their loss to Buffalo with significant ones suffered by DT Alim McNeill (torn ACL), CB Carlton Davis (fractured jaw) and CB Khalil Dorsey (fractured leg). The attrition hit a breaking point against the nuclear Bills offense, which is why you saw Dan Campbell declare an onside kick down 10 points with 12 minutes left. It wasn’t the wrong call. The Lions were not winning that game without stealing a possession somewhere down the stretch, and as it was, they ended up falling by failing to recover the final onside kick in the waning seconds while down six points. The hope now is that they can somehow get three or four defenders back to plug some holes on that side of the ball. Then again, the news that running back David Montgomery is done for the season with a torn MCL might loom just as large. This thing is falling apart at the seams, and it’s sad to see.”
Yahoo Sports
Current rank: 3
Last week’s rank: 1
What Frank Schwab had to say: “At some point we have to judge the Lions on what they are now, and that includes a list of injuries that will be tough to overcome. It’s getting harder to see them beating a team like the Eagles in the playoffs, especially after they gave up 559 yards to the Bills at home.”
CBS Sports
Current rank: 4
Last week’s rank: 1
What Pete Prisco had to say: “The defense just isn’t good enough. That could be the undoing for this dynamic offensive-led team. The loss to the Bills exposed that defense, and now they have more injury losses with defensive tackle Alim McNeill and corner Carlton Davis. It’s a shame.”
Pro Football Talk
Current rank: 5
Last week’s rank: 1
What Mike Florio had to say: “Next man up, meet Old Mother Hubbard.”
ESPN NFL Nation
Current rank: 3
Last week’s rank: 1
What Eric Woodyard had to say: “Through the first three weeks, Detroit’s offense averaged just 20.7 points and struggled, particularly in the red zone, where its efficiency ranked 26th in the NFL at 38.5%. Since Week 4, the offense has found its groove with a league-high 34.8 points per game and the NFL’s top red zone efficiency (78.7%). The success is largely due to production from running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, though Montgomery is now out indefinitely because of a sprained MCL.”
ESPN’s writers were tasked with picking the biggest area of improvement since the start of the season. For the Lions, it was red zone efficiency.
NFL.com
Current rank: 4
Last week’s rank: 1
What Eric Edholm had to say: “Really, the one thing that Detroit couldn’t afford was another round of defensive injuries — and then the Lions came out of their loss to Buffalo with significant ones suffered by DT Alim McNeill (torn ACL), CB Carlton Davis (fractured jaw) and CB Khalil Dorsey (fractured leg). The attrition hit a breaking point against the nuclear Bills offense, which is why you saw Dan Campbell declare an onside kick down 10 points with 12 minutes left. It wasn’t the wrong call. The Lions were not winning that game without stealing a possession somewhere down the stretch, and as it was, they ended up falling by failing to recover the final onside kick in the waning seconds while down six points. The hope now is that they can somehow get three or four defenders back to plug some holes on that side of the ball. Then again, the news that running back David Montgomery is done for the season with a torn MCL might loom just as large. This thing is falling apart at the seams, and it’s sad to see.”
Yahoo Sports
Current rank: 3
Last week’s rank: 1
What Frank Schwab had to say: “At some point we have to judge the Lions on what they are now, and that includes a list of injuries that will be tough to overcome. It’s getting harder to see them beating a team like the Eagles in the playoffs, especially after they gave up 559 yards to the Bills at home.”
CBS Sports
Current rank: 4
Last week’s rank: 1
What Pete Prisco had to say: “The defense just isn’t good enough. That could be the undoing for this dynamic offensive-led team. The loss to the Bills exposed that defense, and now they have more injury losses with defensive tackle Alim McNeill and corner Carlton Davis. It’s a shame.”