If you happened to watch the last two weeks of Detroit Lions football, you will probably think that I have lost my mind when you read the next sentence in this piece.
The 2017 Detroit Lions WILL win the NFC North.
Ok, go ahead, call me a bunch of names in the comment section to make yourself feel better. Finished yet? Good. Now let’s get down to business.
As you know, after their 52-38 loss to the Saints, the Lions have dropped back-to-back games to drop to 3-3 on the season, and they have not looked very good in either of those games. That being said, though this Detroit Lions team is not a Super Bowl contender, they are destined to win their division.
Here are 3 reasons why I believe the Lions will regroup and win the NFC North.
3The Offensive Line Will Improve
I told anyone who would listen that the Detroit Lions were going to get stomped on Sunday against the Saints and that I only had one goal for the game. KEEP. MATTHEW. STAFFORD. HEALTHY!
In fact, I would have been completely fine with the Lions deciding to rest Stafford for the week, especially when they found out that their best offensive lineman, T.J. Lang was inactive. But, Stafford played the entire game and though he was not forced out of the game like some predicted, he is certainly sore this morning.
Luckily, the Lions bye week comes at the absolute perfect time. Lang will have time to heal, as will starting right tackle, Rick Wagner, who reaggravated his ankle injury and was forced to miss time in the second half.
In addition to those guys getting healthy, it won’t be long until starting left tackle Taylor Decker makes his season debut for the Lions. Though the team has not made an official announcement on when Decker will return to action, some think it could be as soon as the Lions Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If and when he does return, Decker will be a mammoth upgrade over Greg Robinson, who has been one of the worst left tackles in the entire league.
Heading into the season, I truly believed the offensive line would be a strength for the Lions and I am still confident that will be the case IF they can get healthy. It’s not brain surgery to say that Matthew Stafford with time to throw the football is better than Matthew Stafford without time to throw the football.
2The Lions Are The Best In The NFC North
I believed it before the season and I believe it even more now that the Packers will be without Aaron Rodgers for what could be the remainder of the year, the Detroit Lions are the most talented team in the NFC North.
Every team in the NFL deals with injuries throughout a given season, but one of the most important injuries so far the injury to Lions starting left tackle, Taylor Decker. During his rookie season, Decker was extremely impressive and when he returns, the Lions offensive line becomes the best in the NFC North.
The Minnesota Vikings are a solid team and the Chicago Bears have been better than expected, but to think that either one of those teams will finish ahead of the Lions in the standings is unlikely, especially considering the Lions already won in Minnesota.
With Rodgers hurt for the Packers, the Lions have a great shot to go into Green Bay and come away with a HUGE win. In fact, there is a solid chance for the Lions to sweep their way through their five remaining NFC North games. If they can do that, the division is theirs.
1Matthew Stafford – Better Than All The Rest
The most important position on a football team is the quarterback and that is especially true for the Detroit Lions. With a healthy Matthew Stafford taking the snaps, the Lions have a chance to win each and every game they play, simply because of his talent level.
When analyzing the remainder of the Lions schedule, a strong argument can be made that the Lions will have the better quarterback in every single game they have remaining on their regular season schedule. That, my friends, is a HUGE advantage to have in a league which relies so heavily on QB play.
Now, some of you may be thinking I have lost my mind and that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is better than Stafford. I will be honest with you. My belief is that Stafford is a better QB than Big Ben, but if you think otherwise, that is fine too.
That being said, even if we go under the assumption that Big Ben is better, there is no question that Stafford is better than the quarterback the Bears, Vikings, Packers, Browns, Ravens, Buccaneers, and Bengals will run out. I am confident that Matthew Stafford can lead the Lions to wins in at least 5 of those 7 games.
