For a team that didn’t play over the weekend, there sure was a lot of volatility in the NFL power rankings for the Detroit Lions. There was an odd amount of movement–in both directions–for the Lions despite Detroit not playing in Week 6.
Dan Campbell’s Lions surged up two spots to No. 29 at Touchdown Wire. The Bears and Commanders, who played one another last Thursday, both fell below the idle Lions.
Analyst Doug Farrar’s commentary cuts straight to the point many Lions fans keep pressing,
The Lions are coming off their bye, which means only that some opponent won’t have to beat them and then talk after the game about how feisty they are, and how close they were to winning. It’s a common theme in the Dan Campbell era, but eventually, this team will have to turn moral victories into actual ones. Campbell is now 4-17-1 as the Lions’ head coach, and while there’s potential here, when does that finally pay off?
Detroit went in the other direction at The Athletic, sliding from 27th to 28th despite not playing. The same thing happened at USA TODAY, with the Lions dropping a spot to 27th. CBS Sports also sent the Lions down one slot to 31st, with the exact same thing happening at ESPN. Detroit also fell at NFL.com to 28th after being No. 26 a week ago.
Yet the Lions surged up two spots at Sports Illustrated, rising to 24th. It’s an odd power poll, with the Seahawks–who beat the Lions in Week 4 and are 3-3 on the season, are 26th.
The volatility owes to the impact the weekend’s games had on other teams, which makes sense. But it’s still strange to see an idle team move in different directions in various rankings.
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