Getty Jared Goff gets slammed down by Jack Sanborn in a Bears game.
The Detroit Lions are on a two game winning streak, and while it might seem shocking to some, the team is actually hanging around the outside of the NFC playoff picture.
Detroit could be in good shape to do some damage if they can stay hot and keep stacking wins like their coach wants, they might continue to hang around the periphery of the playoff picture.
The Lions might have only an outside shot at the playoffs, though, and that’s just what ESPN and their FPI metric recently proved in a piece. Writer Seth Walder took a look at picking out some of the contenders and pretenders, and Detroit’s 1.6% odds left them in the latter category.
As Walder explained, the team’s defense is simply too bad to count on the team making a run to the postseason.
“This defense is just too awful. By EPA per play, Detroit’s defense is by far the worst in the league. And even though the Jared Goff-led offense showed flashes earlier in the season, the Lions are not going to make a run,” he wrote.
It’s not a bold take to proclaim this Lions team isn’t going to make a run, and that has a lot to do with how poorly their defense has played. Obviously, the Lions have a chance to buck this trend, but it isn’t going to be easy given the struggle they have had statistically.
Defense Called Lions’ X-Factor Moving Forward
So how are the Lions going to get into the mix for the playoffs the rest of the way by scoring key wins? According to the same piece, there’s an x-factor for the team, and it revolves around improvements to the aforementioned bad defense.
As Eric Woodyard wrote within the same piece, if the Detroit defense can continue to make big plays, it could be a boost to them moving forward. As he points out, the team seems to have turned somewhat of a corner as it relates to making plays that help win and close out games.
“Before the Week 9 win against the Packers, the Lions’ defense allowed 225 points, the second-most in franchise history through the first seven games. But after the firing of defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant and a players-only meeting, they had their best performance of the season in that 15-9 victory,” Woodyard wrote in the piece.
The Lions may have given up 30 points to Chicago, but it was enough to secure the win, and the team came up with some clutch plays late in the game that managed to turn the tide for Detroit.
Whether or not the Lions can continue to come up with some clutch plays will likely tell everyone whether or not they will remain in the hunt for the postseason. Clearly, most people are not betting on this happening.
Lions Hanging Around NFL Playoff Picture
While some might find the notion of the Lions being in the playoff picture funny, the truth is, the team is suddenly just two games behind seventh place and the San Francisco 49ers who have a 5-4 record.
Detroit would have to keep winning in order to leapfrog some other 4-6 teams before they could even begin to think about chasing down San Francisco. The Cardinals, Commanders, Falcons and Packers are all ahead of the Lions in the standings. Right now, Detroit would own a tiebreaker over Washington and Green Bay, however.
The missing the playoffs is probably a foregone conclusion for these Lions, but the fact that the team is even thinking of the conversation right now points to how hard they have battled to right the ship recently.
That can be true even if the Lions have next to no chance in order to break through and claim a 2022-23 playoff birth.