As the NFL season approaches – we are just a week and a half away from the Detroit Lions hosting the Arizona Cardinals – the pundits are weighing in with their annual predictions. Every one of them needs to be taken with a grain of salt because no one is ever 100% correct, but they at least are a barometer of what the perception is for your favorite team.
If that team is the Lions, the perception isn’t good.
NFL.com had 15 of their analysts pick the four NFC Divisional winners and the two Wild Card teams in the conference. Former players, GMs, and hosts made up the panel.
15 analysts, six picks each, makes 90 potential spots for the Lions to grab.
They got one, and only one.
Ike Taylor, the 12-year Pittsburgh Steeler and 2-time NFL champion that has been on the NFL Network since 2015, picked the Lions to win the NFC North. It is quite a long read, but here is Taylor’s detailed reason why he made that selection:
STAFFORD!
Yep. That’s it. That is all he wrote. Dynamite drop-in, Monty. That broadcast school has really paid off.
The only other team to receive just one vote from the analysts is the Carolina Panthers, who Adam Rank picked to be the second NFC Wild Card team.
The majority of the experts selected the Green Bay Packers to win the NFC North, the New York Giants to take the NFC East, the Seattle Seahawks to unanimously rule the NFC West, and the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons to retain the NFC South crown.
