Getty Lions fans celebrate during a game in Jacksonville.
The Detroit Lions have struggled this season in the early stages, but they could finally be poised to break through and go on a major run in the second half of the 2020 season.
Detroit jump started their hopeful turnaround with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, and while the victory seemed a bit hollow considering the opposition, it might only be the beginning for the team considering the schedule they are set to play. That’s something that Sports Illustrated analyst Albert Breer mentioned in a Monday Morning Quarterback column. As he says, the Lions could be sneaky tough in the coming weeks.
Breer wrote:
“The Lions might be feisty from here. At 2–3, they’re a game out of the NFC playoff picture and their schedule softens up over the next few weeks (at Atlanta, Indianapolis, at Minnesota, Washington and at Carolina between now and Thanksgiving). Don’t count them out yet.”
Breer was already on the Lions train in the moments after the game on Sunday, so it’s not surprising to see him sticking with his prediction that the Lions are going to be able to make a run down the stretch and be a tough team. If the Lions manage to bring some of the attitude that they did this past weekend, they could be sneaky tough after a bad start to the season.
It’s possible the bye week came at just the right time to reset for Detroit and get set for a run. That’s what many analysts see, and also what plenty of fans hope even in spite of their not so secret desires to see firings and chaos play out.
2020 NFC Playoff Standings
Right now, the Lions are a game back in the NFC standings, and are competing for the playoffs with the likes of the Packers, Saints, Panthers, Cardinals, Rams and 49ers. Out of that group, the best record is 4-1, so it’s certainly not as if the Lions are far out of the picture at all. They have a win over Arizona in their back pocket, and while they lost to the Saints, they will play the Panthers later this season and get another battle against Green Bay later as well. Oddly enough, Detroit’s record is better than anyone’s in the NFC East at this point in time.
Certainly, the Lions aren’t out of the playoff picture by any means, and they could make a quick run through their lighter schedule and put pressure on the teams ahead of them to win plenty of games to keep pace in the standings the rest of the way.
Lions Upcoming Schedule
One reason the Lions could be working themselves into the playoff picture for analysts and fans alike? The team’s schedule does lighten up in a major way in the weeks ahead even more than it did on Sunday. After the defeat of the Jaguars, the Lions play the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans. Out of that group, just the Colts have a winning record, so it’s possible a major run could be coming for the Lions to get themselves back in the mix. The team’s second half schedule strength was amongst one of the lowest in the entire NFL, which means the chance exists for a big time run coming up.
That’s just what analysts like Breer think might boost the team in a big way.
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