MichiganCardinal

It felt like a little bit of that was going on last year against the Ravens, when they came in ranked #1 in a bunch of power rankings. To a lesser degree the game against the Panthers in 2022 as well (though that game was fluky in its own right). I think a lot of the Dan Campbell mantra and attitude is giving it 110% every down of every game, running through a brick wall to get to the ball carrier, or to get the extra yard. And I think that while that is obviously extremely successful, it isn't always attainable every down of every game at the NFL level. You'll have times by week 11 when you're just not on your A-game, and that's okay. You regroup and give it 110% the next week. That is to say, I agree that if they finish 16-1 I don't think it's spells bad news for the playoffs. I just also don't think 14-3 is bad, in the grand scheme of a season arc.

I think that transition too is as much psychological as it is skillset too. Remember going from middle school football to JV, or JV to varsity. All of a sudden those hits from linebackers were hitting a little different, those players were a little smarter and faster. I have to imagine going from college (even at a place like USC) to the NFL, that difference is magnified 10x over. The spotlight is even brighter, the schemes are more complex, and there are so many moving parts that your college brain never had to comprehend. It's easy to see how even a guy like Williams or Lawrence could drown under that expectation. It's so much better when you can gradually introduce them to all that. They'll still be getting cameras shoved in their face, but by week ten if they're the backup, and the coach is doing his job even if they're 1-9 by saying "NO he is not coming in this year," they're not the main story anymore. You mention Stafford, but even Stafford missed 19 games his first two years due to injury. The "injury prone bust" verbiage was getting thrown around quite a bit by his 3rd year. The 2009 injuries included a dislocated knee on a sack, a separated shoulder on a hit (in that crazy game against the Browns), and then re-injuring that shoulder later on, which landed him on IR. Then in 2010 he hurt the shoulder yet again and had to get a second surgery on it. Who knows if he'd be the same QB without having sat for much of 2009 and 2010, but I'm sure those injuries did teach him about how to absorb (and NOT absorb) contact in the NFL.

It feels to me that the issue in Chicago is the same organizational ineptitude that plagued the Lions for so many years. Terrible owner hires people who are terrible at their jobs to run the franchise. They lose a lot of games. They get fired. Terrible owner hires people who are terrible at their jobs to run the franchise….. Matt Eberflus should have been fired last year. Since he wasn’t, now you have a lame duck coach with a rookie QB, and you’re going to do the same thing you did with Justin Fields (and the same thing the Jags did with Trevor Lawrence) in replacing his coach for his sophomore season. A better organization would win many more games with the gift wrapped draft picks handed to the Bears by the Panthers.

I meant more so the impact on the city. Just like how 770,000 people attended the draft, I think you’re looking at hundreds of thousands flooding New Orleans to be a part of the action, even if they’re not going to the game.

The AFC East has the potential to be clinched before the first of December.

If there is a Lions/Bills Super Bowl, it will be the largest attended Super Bowl in history. Bills fans will travel to New Orleans too. Someone will make franchise history. If it's Lions/Chiefs, I would expect Lions fans to outpace Chiefs 2:1, even though they have half as long a drive.

I still think they lose at least one divisional game. Probably TNF against the Packers or Week 18 against the Vikings, but maybe @Chicago... and maybe lose one non-divisional game (either Bills or @SF). It's so hard to go 6-0 in your own division when it's good, and both the Bills and 49ers are top 5-10 teams in the NFL who will likely have eyes on seeding. 14-3 #1 seed with a bye heading into the playoffs is well primed for a historical run though.

It sounds silly but that psychological component is real. I would rather be the Lions than the Chiefs right now, and all else being equal, I would tend to prefer to enter the playoffs as a 14-3 or 13-4 #1 seed than a 16-1 #1 seed. There is something to be said for a loss or two - adversity generally - fueling a deep playoff run, compared to a team that thinks it is unbeatable. I feel like the hunted getting proverbially 'caught' a few times in a season does something positive for the team's psyche. Last year I think part of the character arc of that Lions team was getting their doors blown off in Baltimore. Now, maybe we are past that. It's not like the Chiefs in the last two years needed to get blown out during the season to go on their deep runs. They faced adversity, but didn't need to lose the game to improve from it. My hope is that the Texans game can still be that "stinker," where the team says "yeah maybe we aren't God's gift to football... But we are a good team and we can beat any team any day."

vs. Setting: 11/17/2024 1:00pm EST on CBS Site: Ford Field in Detroit, MI Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Lions -10.5 All-Time Series Record: Lions lead, 5-3 Last Meeting: 12/04/2022, Lions won 40-14 Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) Head Coach: Doug Pederson (8th Season: 62-61-1) Projected Starting QB: Mac Jones (4th Season: 18-25) Last Game: 12-7 L v. Minnesota Vikings (7-2) Looking Ahead to Week #12: BYE Your Detroit Lions (8-1) Head Coach: Dan Campbell (4th Season: 32-27-1) Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (9th Season: 74-51-1) Last Week: 26-23 W @ Houston Texans (6-4) Looking Ahead to Week #12: Sunday @ Indianapolis Colts (4-6) Elsewhere in the NFL Primetime: Commanders @ Eagles (TNF), Bengals @ Chargers (SNF), Texans @ Cowboys (MNF) 1:00pm: Raiders @ Dolphins, Packers @ Bears, Rams @ Patriots, Vikings @ Titans, Browns @ Saints, Ravens @ Steelers, Colts @ Jets 4:05/4:25pm: Falcons @ Broncos, Seahawks @ 49ers, Chiefs @ Bills BYE: Cardinals, Panthers, Giants, and Buccaneers

I said the same thing. He was grinning!

My girlfriend who I transitioned to a Lions fan this year: "I NEVER DOUBTED THEM. Maybe part of that is because I haven't been hurt by them like you. BUT STILL."

Chip shot.

Bates have one more in him?

YES SIR

Going to need one pass out of Goff.

How the **** are they in position to win this game.

They could have been at the Lions' 39 and it was game-tying FG range. Bates is like when you cheat at Madden and have unlimited leg power.

So. Somehow we are tied.

Badgley could NEVER.

They're pretty much the only two still healthy anyway.

The Texans are so bad. ZERO reason for this to be a game.

Houston isn't very good. A contender should not be in a 10-point game after being gift wrapped five possessions.