Detroit is running out of time to salvage this season.
Detroit’s fallen far short of its recent standard of regular-season domination, and there’s a decent shot that the Lions won’t make the playoffs. Yet it’s clear that they are still one of the league’s best teams. They built a two-score lead over the Rams on Sunday and bounced back after a rough third quarter to make the end of the game compelling, even if they ultimately came up short. If Detroit were to sneak into the postseason field, I think that it could pull off an upset over any team in the NFC.
Had the Lions handled their business against the Vikings six weeks ago, they’d probably be cruising into the playoffs as a wild card. That kind of loss betrayed the expectations we had for this team, and it likely cost the Lions a chance to make a run.