People are starting to believe in the 2017 Detroit Lions.
People are starting to believe in the 2017 Detroit Lions.
Like, people other than the diehard fans of the Honolulu Blue and silver.
And for good reason. The Lions sit at 3-1, a mere one yard from 4-0 heading into their Week 5 showdown with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
A brief look at NFL power rankings published through various publications will tell you that the hype is real.
USA Today and NFL.com are two websites putting the most faith in the Lions. Both have the Detroit at No. 2 behind only the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.
« These aren’t the same old Lions, » an excerpt from NFL.com analyst Elliot Harrison reads. « They are 3-1 (with a bit of an asterisk on the 1). They made the playoffs last year. If running back Ameer Abdullah can keep this going (109 total yards on Sunday), the Lions will win the NFC North. »
« All steak, no sizzle, » USA Today’s blurb reads. « Detroit leads league with 11 takeaways, plus-9 turnover differential and can suddenly run ball. Probably deserve to be 4-0. »
Virtually every other publication of note has the Lions in the Top 10 to varying degrees. ESPN, for some reason, bumped the Lions down a spot to No. 9 despite their 14-7 win against the Vikings.
NFL.com: 2nd (up 2)
USA Today: 2nd (up 2)
Bleacher Report (Simms): 5th (up 1)
SB Nation: 6th (down 3)
Washington Post: 6th (up 3)
CBS: 6th (up 8)
Yahoo! Sports: 7th (up 6)
ESPN: 9th (down 1)
So, what do you think Lions’ fans? Is Detroit really the second-best team in the NFL? It seems odd to say, but at the quarter mark of the season, it may be warranted.
