After Sunday’s nail-biting heartbreaker of a loss to the Super Bowl contending Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions found themselves all over the place in the latest edition of the NFL Power Rankings, released earlier today.
Check out where several outlets have them ranked as they now sit 2-1-1 heading into their bye week.
Bleacher Report: No. 16 – “Detroit put a massive exclamation point on a surprisingly successful September by stunning a Kansas City Chiefs team some considered the best in the NFL. With less than three minutes left in the game, the Lions held a three-point lead.”
Chicago Tribune: No. 11 – “Perhaps the biggest improvement has been in the secondary. The Lions have surrendered only four passing touchdowns through four games, and their opponent passer rating is 80.3. It’s marked improvement for the unit, and the offense has been much more balanced under coordinator Darrell Bevell.”
ESPN’s NFL Nation: No. 15 – “Fixing the pass rush. One of Detroit’s biggest perceived strengths entering the season was its defensive line — a group that has been hurt by injuries (Da’Shawn Hand, Mike Daniels) and that has three sacks combined. Some of the pressure is instead coming from linebackers, as Devon Kennard has three sacks, but the Lions need more pressure up front.”
NFL.com: No. 13 – “The Lions were forced to settle for a moral victory on Sunday when it could have been so much more.”
ProFootballTalk: No. 14 – “They had an elite team on the ropes; next time, the Lions need to punch them through.”
Yahoo Sports: No. 18 – “Sunday should have been a highlight day in Matthew Stafford’s career. He did everything he could, even playing through injury.”
MLive: No. 12 – “The Lions took Kansas City to the wire, but couldn’t hold off Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in the 34-30 loss.”
