Getty Dan Campbell yells at the Lions during a loss to Cincinnati in 2021.
The Detroit Lions are pushing toward the 2022 season, and as it draws ever closer, the fans are dreaming about what will happen on the field.
It seems obvious to say that the Lions are aiming for bigger and better things this year, but whether or not they can get there remains to be seen. That hasn’t stopped some folks from predicting good outcomes for the team.
The latest person to reveal a positive prediction for the Lions is veteran NFL scribe Peter King. The NBC Sports columnist took a look at previewing the 2022 season in a Football Morning in America piece, and the Lions made a notable cut of his in terms of predictions.
According to King, the Lions will finish the season at 7-10. He lists it as one of the league’s “surprise records” along with New England at 7-10, and Jacksonville at 7-10.
King didn’t provide any analysis of the record, but he’s been bullish on the Lions before. Clearly, that’s the case heading into a new year.
If the Lions finished at 7-10, it might not make for a surefire postseason birth, but it would go a long way toward establishing the team as a resurgent force in the league.
Bleacher Report Predicts Lions for Turnaround Season
It isn’t just veteran name pundits that believe the Lions are on track for a solid season. That thought has been a common theme around league circles this offseason.
Recently, Bleacher Report took a look at updating some 2022 projections, and they still see the Lions as a team that will struggle this season. Writer Ian Wharton took a look at discussing how he thinks the team will perform and why.
As Wharton wrote, he thinks the offense will improve and the defense has some pieces, but thinks the group still has a “lack of back-seven talent.”
“This season will be another one of growth for the Lions, but their lack of experience and defensive stars will lead to close losses against better teams,” Wharton writes in the piece.
The site then predicts the Lions to go 7-9 in 2022. That would represent a full four game turnaround from the three win year the Lions endured in 2021. In the end, it wouldn’t be that bad a year record-wise.
How an Ideal Season Looks for Lions
If the Lions are able to double or even triple their win total from 2021, that would have to be seen as a huge win for the franchise at this stage of their rebuild.
The team has struggled to win games in the last few years, and the fact that the Lions even scratched out a 3-13-1 record in a lost season is notable for 2021.
This year, it feels as if the Lions could grab seven or eight wins at best, which could leave them in playoff contention. That would be a big turnaround based on what the recent past has looked like, and could leave the Lions in good shape in the middle of their rebuild.
At this point, that still is seen as the most likely outcome by many pundits. This kind of year would represent a great start for the franchise amid their ongoing rebuild.
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Lions Pegged for League’s ‘Surprise Record’ in 2022 by Peter King