Tag: NFL power poll

Lions power rankings show the wide divide on QB Jared Goff

The commentary on the Detroit Lions power rankings after Week 12 shows the wide divide on QB Jared Goff

Tuesday means the weekly NFL power polls get updated around the mediasphere. This week’s collection of the Detroit Lions rankings reflects a pretty consensus rankings status but a big divide on quarterback Jared Goff.

At USA TODAY, the Lions dropped two spots to 21st in the latest update. Interestingly, NFC North rivals Green Bay (22) and Chicago (23) immediately follow Detroit in the rankings. The Lions’ blurb is an interesting perspective on Goff,

QB Jared Goff might be in the MVP conversation if he could play all his games at Ford Field – where he’d be projected to throw for nearly 4,400 yards and 43 TDs over 17 games with a 102.6 passer rating.

Over at NFL.com, the Lions were one spot higher at No. 20. The Lions check in a little lower at ESPN, where Dan Campbell’s team ranks 23rd. Detroit fell to 24th in the Sporting News latest polling. Sportsnaut dropped the Lions to 20th after losing to the Bills. Their commentary veers strongly in the other direction regarding Goff,

The Detroit Lions’ record in one-score games might suggest it’s time to replace Dan Campbell. In reality, the first step is finding a franchise-caliber quarterback to take over for Jared Goff. Find the passer who can make the big throws in critical moments and lift the ceiling on this offense. Accomplish that and the Lions are a playoff contender.

There was a similar sentiment from Pro Football News, where Detroit sits at No. 23,

Detroit hung with Buffalo for four quarters, and the consistent battles they find themselves in despite their roster inadequacies should give fans hope for the future – one hopefully with a QB who can elevate those around him.

Jared Goff is playing some of the best football he has in years, and it should come as no surprise Detroit has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He’s still a lost puppy when pressured, but the Lions’ pass protection isn’t allowing pressure as often.

One analyst sees Goff as having MVP potential, while two others strongly believe the Lions need to replace him to move upward. Where do you stand?

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Lions roaring up the NFL power poll charts

The Detroit Lions are roaring up the NFL power poll charts after two wins in a row

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last looked at the NFL power polls. When the Lions were 1-6 and mired with the worst record in the league, there wasn’t much of a point. Detroit was dead last and everyone knew it.

Two straight divisional victories has changed the story. The Lions beat the Packers in Week 9 and then captured the first road victory of the Dan Campbell era in Week 10 to catapult out of the cellar. But how far up the charts have the Lions roared?

At USA TODAY, Detroit now ranks 22nd. Analyst Nate Davis sums up the ascension nicely,

For the first time in 29 years, they won a game they trailed by at least 14 points after three quarters. For the first time under head coach Dan Campbell, they won on the road.

Detroit shot up to 23rd at The Athletic after Week 10. The Lions were two slots higher at FOX Sports, coming in at No. 21. At CBS Sports, Detroit is now 26th.

The rise hasn’t been as lofty in some other polls. At ESPN, Detroit remains a lowly 30th despite there being 11 teams with worse records in the league.

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Lions slide back to reality in most NFL power polls after Week 3 loss

A week after climbing up most NFL power rankings, the Lions’ Week 3 loss sends them back down the polls

After the stirring Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions roared up the charts in most NFL power rankings. The ladders of supremacy were fleeting, however.

With the loss in Minnesota in Week 3, a game where the Lions held a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter, last week’s ladders have become this week’s chutes in the power poll roundup.

At Touchdown Wire, the Lions dropped back from 20th to No. 24. It’s a logical landing spot after blowing a potential win in Minnesota,

The Lions appeared to get on track with a win over Washington in Week 2, but they are still having trouble winning close games. If the Lions can ever stack wins, it will validate the Dan Campbell way and the Lions could be a tough matchup that teams won’t be able to count on for an easy win.

There were similar disappearing acts for the Lions rankings at NBC Sports (19th to 21st), ESPN (20th to 25th), Sporting News (21st to 25th) and  CBS Sports (26th to 28th)

The are some exceptions, the most prominent of which is USA TODAY, where analyst Nate Davis manned the battle station of Lions support. Detroit remains at No. 14 even with the loss to the Vikings. Detroit also sticks at 16th in the latest from NFL.com.

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Lions roar up the NFL power polls despite Week 1 loss

The polls factor in the team’s performance and quality of opponent

The post-Week 1 power polls are out around the media sphere. Lions fans will typically have to scroll down a little bit less to find Detroit in this week’s listings than they have in quite some time.

Even with the 38-35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the

USA TODAY elevated the Lions to No. 18 from the preseason spot at 23. Analyst Nate Davis nicely sums up Detroit’s Week 1 experience,

The arrow has been trending up since last season, through “Hard Knocks” and into the opener, when they gave one of the NFC’s best teams all it could handle. Eventually, Detroit has to turn its promise into wins, but don’t be surprised if Dan Campbell’s crew hangs around the playoff picture into January.

Sports Illustrated’s panel of voters also saw improvement in Detroit’s debut. The Lions are now 23rd after starting the season 26th. The team made a similar move at FOX Sports, vaulting from 27th to 24th after Week 1 outcomes from around the league.

At Athlon Sports, Detroit rocked up one spot from 27 to 26 even with the loss. The quality of opponent factored in here.

Not everyone saw things so optimistically for Dan Campbell’s Lions. Detroit actually fell a notch at ESPN in its Week 2 power poll, going from 26th to 27th.

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Lions escape the bottom tier in PFF’s power rankings

The Detroit Lions have left the bottom tier of teams far behind in PFF’s latest power poll

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It’s been easy to find the Detroit Lions in NFL power polls over the past couple of years. Scroll to the bottom and Detroit was sure to be in the bottom 2-3 teams, and that’s where they belonged too. But many analysts have seen enough progress in the roster and the impressive coaching staff to move the Lions out of the cellar in 2022.

The latest example is Pro Football Focus. In PFF’s updated power rankings, the Lions aren’t at the bottom. Heck, they aren’t even in the bottom tier of six teams that are effectively written off before the season even starts.

Not only did Detroit emerge out of the “rebuilding” tier, but the Lions also shot up past a couple of teams in the “in limbo” grouping. Detroit ranks 24th, lodged between the Washington Commanders and New York Jets–who have also risen up this offseason.

The rebuild project in Detroit still doesn’t have its quarterback of the future, but the rest of the roster is coming together very nicely, and Jared Goff has shown the capacity to be a better-than-average quarterback in the right environment. The Lions are still relying on the development and growth of young players that they added a year ago, but if things go as planned, Detroit could make more noise this season than people expect.

It’s nice to hear genuine optimism from another national outlet. It needs to be validated with wins, of course, but things are definitely looking up for the Lions.

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ESPN’s FPI predictions show the Lions moving up quickly

The Detroit Lions fare better than expected in ESPN’s FPI prediction model for the 2022 NFL season

Now that the draft is done and the NFL schedule is finalized, we’re going to start seeing projections for how the Detroit Lions will fare in wins and losses in the 2022 season. One of those predictive models takes a slightly different course and it produces an interesting outcome for Detroit.

ESPN’s analytics department, notably analyst Seth Walder, operates what they call the FPI, or Football Power Index. Instead of straight-up picking wins and losses, it formulates a value for each team based on analytical factors including roster makeup, coaching and expected performance. And their model values the Lions at No. 23 overall out of 32 teams.

Not bad for a Detroit team that finished 31st in 2021 with a 3-13-1 record and was the last team to win a game a year ago.

But what is our Football Power Index? It is our predictive model that includes ratings and projections for every NFL team, from how good they are on defense to what their chances are of winning their division.

This is not your typical power rankings. The Lions evaluate at -4.3, sandwiched between the New York Giants (-4.1) and San Francisco 49ers (-6.1). Those 49ers made the NFC Championship game last year, while the Giants were the last-place team in the AFC East at 4-13.

At the bottom of the list: The Chicago Bears, with an abysmal -13.2 rating. They are one of five NFC teams ranked below the Lions, who had the worst record in the conference in 2021.

Lions settle into rightful place in the Week 17 NFL power rankings

The Lions going 2-4-1 over the last seven weeks (better than the Ravens, Seahawks and Saints among others) doesn’t overcome the hideous start to the season for Detroit.

On the heels of a 20-16 loss in Atlanta in Week 16, the Detroit Lions now have the NFL’s second-worst record at 2-12-1. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars sport a worse record.

So it’s fitting that the Jaguars are the only team below the Lions in the latest wave of NFL power polls. The Lions slide in at 31st in this week’s updates from both Touchdown Wire and USA TODAY.

It’s a regression in the rankings in each. As Touchdown Wire noted in dropping the Lions from 28th to 31st,

The Lions had opportunities but failed to take advantage of them. A long drive stalled at the goal line leaving points on the field and a late fumble by the Falcons put Detroit in prime position to escape with a win. Instead, Lions QB Tim Boyle, who started for Jared Goff (COVID), threw a pick to seal the 20-16 final.

The Lions also check in at No. 31 on ESPN’s latest power poll. At this late juncture of the season, you are what your record says you are. The Lions going 2-4-1 over the last seven weeks (better than the Ravens, Seahawks and Saints among others) doesn’t overcome the hideous start to the season for Detroit.

The Browns hold tight in most NFL power polls for Week 8

The Cleveland Browns win over the Denver Broncos didn’t do much to impact the teams’ standing in Week 8 NFL power polls

The Cleveland Browns pulled out a win on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, edging the Denver Broncos 17-14 in the battle of attrition between the two depleted rosters. The win helped move the Browns back into the current AFC playoff picture, but it didn’t do much to impress with the eye test. That lack of enthusiasm is found in the latest NFL power polls from various outlets.

At Touchdown Wire, Cleveland sits just outside the top 10 in the Week 8 update. The Browns are 11th, up one spot from Week 7 after the win over Denver. The work by the backups impressed the pollsters,

The Browns, down to backup QB Case Keenum and third-string rusher D’Ernest Johnson topped the Broncos on a short week, 17-14. Keenum managed things well while Johnson ripped off 146 yards on the ground.

At USA TODAY The Browns moved from 12th to 14th, somehow losing ground despite a win propelled by so many reserves on offense.

Cleveland sits at No. 12 in ESPN’s latest poll, unchanged from a week ago. There was no change either at NFL.com, where the Browns remain 13th in the updated rankings. NBC Sports kept Stefanski’s Browns at No. 13 as well.

Lions surge up power polls despite remaining the only winless team

The Detroit Lions surge up NFL Week 8 power polls despite remaining the only winless team

It is not reflected in the win-loss standings, where the Detroit Lions sit at the bottom as the NFL’s only remaining winless team after Week 7. But the series of narrow losses to good teams and an impressive showing against the high-flying Rams in Los Angeles was enough to convince those who do award style points and use the “eye test” that Dan Campbell’s Lions are not the worst team in the league.

The Lions jumped up multiple spots in several Week 8 NFL power polls after the 28-19 loss to the Rams, a game they led into the fourth quarter. It was the third competitive loss against likely playoff teams, including the Ravens and Packers.

The Lions shot up from 31st to 29th at Touchdown Wire on the basis of the close loss to a good team. Two of the three teams below them, the Houston Texans (32nd) and New York Jets (31st) got annihilated by a combined score of 85-18. Detroit also leapt over Jacksonville with the Jaguars on a bye week.

Detroit also moved up a spot at NFL.com, passing over the Jets into the No. 30 spot. At NBC, the Lions surged from 32nd to 29th, ahead of the same three teams that fill out the bottom at Touchdown Wire. It was a two-spot jump in USA TODAY’s poll, from 32 to 30.

They didn’t rise up in every poll. ESPN still ranks the winless Lions at No. 32 of 32.

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Winless Lions hit the bottom in NFL power polls

The Detroit Lions are at the bottom of almost every NFL power poll as the last winless team

It took some time and the NFL’s only winless record after six weeks to drop the Detroit Lions to the bottom of nearly every NFL power poll.

Strangely enough, it’s not a unanimous opinion to have the Lions ranked at No. 32 of 32. Touchdown Wire lists the Lions as No. 31, ahead of the Houston Texans. Houston has a win over Jacksonville, which picked up its first win of the season in Week 6 by beating a Miami team that also has just one win. The two New York teams, the Giants and Jets, also have just one win and are in the bottom tier with the others.

Everywhere else, from ESPN to CBS, from USA TODAY to Sporting News, has the winless Lions at the bottom of the heap entering Week 7.

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