Week Eleven: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) @ Detroit Lions (8-1)

[MichiganCardinal]

          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

[Motor City Sonics]

That stretch when you saw

@ Dallas

vs. Tennessee

@ Minnesota

@ Green Bay 

@ Houston

You thought   3-2 would be stellar and this team went 5-0. 

Now you have Jacksonville, @Indy and the Bears for Thanksgiving. 

I don't see any upsets there.   This coaching staff won't allow it.  

11-1 is not possible it's very likely.     It would take an outbreak of the flu and even then, not sure they wouldn't win all 3. 

It might help them if they lost one of their last few games to motivate them, but I am not sure they will.  Not after this incredible stretch.  16-1 or 15-2 is very possible.    Can you imagine the atmosphere in that building hosting an NFC Championship?   

Edited November 11 by Motor City Sonics

[MichiganCardinal]

41 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

It might help them if they lost one of their last few games to motivate them, but I am not sure they will.  Not after this incredible stretch.  16-1 or 15-2 is very possible.    Can you imagine the atmosphere in that building hosting an NFC Championship?   

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."

[MichiganCardinal]

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.

[lordstanley]

As a target, Lions' post-season schedule?

-Bye

-vs. Atlanta

-vs. Philadelphia

- Buffalo (neutral field)

[RedRamage]

1 hour ago, lordstanley said:

- Buffalo (neutral field)

Okay, yeah, technically it'll be a neutral field... but if the Lions make the SB I expect it to be the most lopsided crowd in a long time. First, I suspect there will be a LOT of Lions fans who put up the big bucks to go. How many years have we been waiting? Second, I suspect the Lions would be the preferred rooting interest of most of the fans of the other 30 teams that aren't there.

[Motown Bombers]

4 of the Lions last 5 games have been on the road, and they won them all. 3 of them were against playoff caliber teams in Minnesota, Green Bay, and Houston. Now the next 3 are against Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Chicago. They should be 11-1. At the beginning of the season, this was seen as a tough schedule and still has been. Dallas is worse than expected, but Minnesota is better than expected, so it evens out. 

[RedRamage]

1 hour ago, Motown Bombers said:

Dallas is worse than expected...

I like to think that the Lions beat down is the reason they are worse than expected. We broke them.

[Jason_R]

16 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

I like to think that the Lions beat down is the reason they are worse than expected. We broke them.

Dallas was already fragile but I think the Lions game left them beyond repair. 

[MichiganCardinal]

4 hours ago, RedRamage said:

Okay, yeah, technically it'll be a neutral field... but if the Lions make the SB I expect it to be the most lopsided crowd in a long time. First, I suspect there will be a LOT of Lions fans who put up the big bucks to go. How many years have we been waiting? Second, I suspect the Lions would be the preferred rooting interest of most of the fans of the other 30 teams that aren't there.

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.

[lordstanley]

8 hours ago, RedRamage said:

Okay, yeah, technically it'll be a neutral field... but if the Lions make the SB I expect it to be the most lopsided crowd in a long time. First, I suspect there will be a LOT of Lions fans who put up the big bucks to go. How many years have we been waiting? Second, I suspect the Lions would be the preferred rooting interest of most of the fans of the other 30 teams that aren't there.

This is really starting to feel like the ‘84 Tigers. A magical season. Of course the Lions still have to play the 2nd half and then win at least two playoff games to simply make the Super Bowl. But in June 1984 the Tigers still had to keep playing after 35-5 and then anything could happen in the short playoff series. But by early summer we and the national media knew something special was brewing. Just as we and the media know now. 

[Sports_Freak]

12 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

That stretch when you saw

@ Dallas

vs. Tennessee

@ Minnesota

@ Green Bay 

@ Houston

You thought   3-2 would be stellar and this team went 5-0. 

Now you have Jacksonville, @Indy and the Bears for Thanksgiving. 

I don't see any upsets there.   This coaching staff won't allow it.  

11-1 is not possible it's very likely.     It would take an outbreak of the flu and even then, not sure they wouldn't win all 3. 

It might help them if they lost one of their last few games to motivate them, but I am not sure they will.  Not after this incredible stretch.  16-1 or 15-2 is very possible.    Can you imagine the atmosphere in that building hosting an NFC Championship?   

In 1991 when the Lions earned a bye week, I always considered that a playoff win. We moved on even if we didn't play. 

[RedRamage]

15 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

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 would agree on both accounts... though "largest attended" is somewhat nebulous given that I think every SB is sold out. But that's nitpicking.

As for the Lions/Chiefs... this is only to be expected. I mean I remember when the Tigers started winning the Central regularly. 2006 was magical and new and exciting... 2011 and pretty cool... 2014 was fun, but it wasn't the same feeling. I'm sure this is where Chiefs fans are right now. After 6 straight AFC conference appearances, 4 times making the SB, it still cool but doesn't have the same magic that I'm sure it did in 2019.

[MichiganCardinal]

22 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

I would agree on both accounts... though "largest attended" is somewhat nebulous given that I think every SB is sold out. But that's nitpicking.

As for the Lions/Chiefs... this is only to be expected. I mean I remember when the Tigers started winning the Central regularly. 2006 was magical and new and exciting... 2011 and pretty cool... 2014 was fun, but it wasn't the same feeling. I'm sure this is where Chiefs fans are right now. After 6 straight AFC conference appearances, 4 times making the SB, it still cool but doesn't have the same magic that I'm sure it did in 2019.

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.

[NYLion]

23 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

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."

Not a Dan Campbell led team. There is no worry about this team reading their own press clippings, not under this coach, so I wouldn't be concerned if they swept the rest of the games and went 15-1 but I'd be shocked if they did, they'll lose a few by the end of the season and I bet one is to the Bears because the Bears know exactly the defensive elixir to use against the Lions year after year.

[MichiganCardinal]

15 minutes ago, NYLion said:

Not a Dan Campbell led team. There is no worry about this team reading their own press clippings, not under this coach, so I wouldn't be concerned if they swept the rest of the games and went 15-1 but I'd be shocked if they did, they'll lose a few by the end of the season and I bet one is to the Bears because the Bears know exactly the defensive elixir to use against the Lions year after year.

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.

[MichiganCardinal]

At 8-1, the Lions have posted their best start since 1954, when they started 8-1 in route to a 9-3-1 season, capped by a 56-10 NFL Championship loss to the Browns. That team tied its tenth game.

A win against Jacksonville would change the historical tracker to the inaugural Detroit Lions season of 1934, where they began 10-0, with a disappointing 0-3 finish, all three games lost by only three points, missing out on the NFL Championship Game.

Looking ahead, the Lions have never as a franchise recorded more than 12 wins in the regular season. They would need to finish 5-4 or better to break that record.

[NYLion]

20 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

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.

This team is way more mature than that team at that point in the season and, quite frankly, Baltimore is capable of running through any team at any point. The Lions were just learning how to be "the hunted" at that time so I don't see this team not being able to handle success. I guess I just don't believe in the idea that a team needs losses, especially this team, going into the playoffs to maintain focus.

And yes, it's 16-1 not 15-1, still getting used to this silly 17 game format that is ruining all previous record books but I digress. That's why I scoff at these new season high records. Well yeah, there's one game tacked on now so of course a bunch of records will be broken now. Ok, I guess I didn't digress haha

Edited November 12 by NYLion

[Sports_Freak]

20 hours ago, NYLion said:

This team is way more mature than that team at that point in the season and, quite frankly, Baltimore is capable of running through any team at any point. The Lions were just learning how to be "the hunted" at that time so I don't see this team not being able to handle success. I guess I just don't believe in the idea that a team needs losses, especially this team, going into the playoffs to maintain focus.

And yes, it's 16-1 not 15-1, still getting used to this silly 17 game format that is ruining all previous record books but I digress. That's why I scoff at these new season high records. Well yeah, there's one game tacked on now so of course a bunch of records will be broken now. Ok, I guess I didn't digress haha

When I first started watching football, it was a 14 game schedule. Comparing today's records to those days doesn't make much sense. Back then, 1000 yard rushers were rare. 

[Motor City Sonics]

1 hour ago, Sports_Freak said:

When I first started watching football, it was a 14 game schedule. Comparing today's records to those days doesn't make much sense. Back then, 1000 yard rushers were rare. 

Yeah, 1000 yards = 71.4 yards per game

Now it's 58.8 yards per game, which isn't very eye-opening

In order to equal what 1,000 yards was then it's 1,214 yards

Plus now, it's more about All Purpose yards with how often running backs catch passes compared to then. 

[Motown Bombers]

[lordstanley]

I read on one gaming site that what is now a 13 pt spread is the biggest the Lions have been favoured since 1995 when they played the Jags in the Jags’ inaugural season  

 

 

Edited November 13 by lordstanley

[Motown Bombers]

Lions play the Colts next. 

[Jason_R]

It’s looking good that the interception streak will continue for a few more weeks. 

[Motown Bombers]

Richardson is so inaccurate that defenders can’t even catch his passes.