The Detroit Lions had a bye in Week 5 but that didn’t stop the NFL experts from moving them around the rankings a bit. Most experts agree, the Lions land around the 23rd or 25th spot, except for one analyst, who pegs them as the 3rd worst team in the NFL.
Let’s take a closer look at where the Lions stand in the national eye and what the experts are saying.
USA Today: 23 (Previous 25)
“Their three losses have come against teams with a combined 11 wins. Their next five opponents have a combined six wins. Giddy-up, fellas.” — Nate Davis
Touchdown Wire: 29 (Previous: 28)
“The Lions had a Week 5 bye, so they managed to not blow another double-digit lead. An encouraging trend! They face the 1-4 Jaguars on Sunday, so the resumption of football brings the prospect of more beclownery for Matt Patricia’s team.” — Doug Farrar
NFL: 25 (Previous: 24)
“You have to wonder whether Matt Patricia would still be employed right now if the Lions hadn’t edged out the Cardinals in Week 3. The Week 5 bye looked ominous for the embattled head coach as far back as August. Up next is a pair of winnable road games at Jacksonville and Atlanta (teams with a combined record of 1-9). Getting back to 3-3 hardly qualifies as an impossible ask… but what have the Lions shown us in the Patricia era to make us think they’ll take advantage of this opportunity to reboot their season? Do-or-die time in Motown.” — Dan Hanzus
ESPN: 25 (Previous: 25)
“Biggest weakness: Literally the entire defense. Where to begin. The Lions have given up more rushing yards per game (170.3) than any team in the NFL and have allowed 5.16 yards per rush. Detroit is yielding 405 yards per game in total and 6.16 yards per play. They can’t get off the field — No. 31 in first downs allowed per game (27.3) — and can’t sack the quarterback (five sacks in four games). Even defensive end Trey Flowers, when asked about the team’s lack of pass rush, said it hadn’t been in enough pass-rush situations because teams are running so well on them. It has led to an inefficient defense and putting more pressure on the offense to have to score on every possession” — Michael Rothstein
CBS Sports: 23 (Previous 22)
“They come off the bye with a game at Jacksonville. Matt Stafford hasn’t been great, but the Jaguars defense should be the perfect tonic.” — Pete Prisco
Sports Illustrated: 23 (Previous: 26)
“I understand that, sometimes under a new head coach, a team has to take a step back before it can take a step forward. After all, Bill Belichick started 5-13 after taking over a Patriots team that hadn’t had a losing record the previous four seasons and had made the playoffs in three of those four seasons. Everyone was calling for his job, the franchise quarterback he’d signed to a record deal had his insides liquified . . . and then the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl in 78 consecutive seasons (approximately). But in the case of Matt Patricia, it’s Year 3, they’ve been dealing talented players at a discount in order to get ‘his guys’ in the building, and the defense—his side of the ball—has gotten progressively worse since he arrived. There’s still time to turn things around—no one saw it coming with those early Belichick Patriots—but the evidence all points to another wasted year of Matthew Stafford’s dwindling prime.” — Gary Grambling
Sporting News: 25 (Previous: 24)
“The Lions went into the bye wondering how much longer Matt Patricia would be their coach coming out of it. They do get the Jaguars and Falcons back to back on the road to try to get to respectability fast.” — Vinnie Iyer