ALLEN PARK, Mich. — When Lions players and coaches went their separate ways for the bye week, they did so knowing where they were and what was ahead.
Three wins in four games had them in an enviable spot across the league. A Week 5 bye would allow a bruised team some time to recover, while others wait for some time off. And they knew they’d need it.
“It’s good to get to 3-1 with this bye,” head coach Dan Campbell said after the Seahawks game. “We rest up, we heal up, we get fresh again and then we make a big push.”
In many ways, the early bye was beneficial. The Lions believe they’re rounding into form, looking more and more like the Super Bowl contender they think they are. But now it’s full steam ahead from here until Detroit’s season is over. And that big push Campbell was talking about might need to start sooner rather than later.
But first, let’s talk about where the Lions are. It’s no secret this team hasn’t played its best football yet — at least relative to its own lofty expectations. In Weeks 1-3, this Lions’ defense often carried a team known for its offensive firepower. Detroit held opponents to 20, 20 and 13 points in its first three games — an average of 17.7 points per game that ranked top-10 in the league during that span. The offense, meanwhile, stalled for long stretches in each of those first three games, making just enough plays to win two of them. The Lions needed overtime to get to 26 points in Week 1, and were held to 13 and 20 in Weeks 2 and 3. It was a slow start that made you wonder when the real offense would stand up. The turnaround — a 42-point explosion vs. the Seattle Seahawks before the bye week — just so happened to coincide with Detroit’s worst defensive effort of the season in which it allowed 29 points (two via a safety by the offense) and 516 yards.
The bye week allowed for a self-scout and some reflection for Campbell and his staff.
“The emphasis really is still on improving,” Campbell said Monday. “We have to improve. …We did some things on Monday night that were — that’s more what we’re looking for, and so now that’s the floor. How do we continue to play even better than that? How do we clean up some of the things that got us in trouble in that game? It wasn’t all perfect, and so I think you just continue to strive that way and try to be — you’re trying to play a perfect game. …You’re trying to coach it, you’re trying to play it knowing it’s not going to happen, but that doesn’t mean you’re not trying to do everything that you can to play as perfect as you can play. So, we’ve got things to clean up, and so it really is, it’s about improving.”
The Lions will need to, considering the schedule that awaits them out of the bye. They’ll kick off a tough five-game stretch — starting with the Dallas Cowboys (3-2) on Sunday.
Under Campbell, the Lions have traveled to Dallas two years in a row and will make it three this weekend. They’ll try to ensure the outcome is different this time, after losing both of those contests. Last year’s ending, in which officials ruled that Taylor Decker never reported eligible and therefore wiped off a go-ahead two-point conversion in the final minute of the game, was a difficult loss to stomach. The Lions have moved on, though, and know they’ll face a Cowboys team that’s had their number.
“Dallas, they’ve gotten us the last couple of years,” Aidan Hutchinson said Tuesday. “As controversial as last year was, it was last year. And so, we’re very hopeful. We’re all ready to go over here. We’re just — we’re on a mission this year.”
After Dallas, the Lions head to Minnesota for a game against the Vikings — one of the surprise teams of the NFL so far, heading into a bye week with a spotless 5-0 record. QB Sam Darnold has revived his career under head coach Kevin O’Connell, throwing for 11 touchdowns (tied for second-most), 1,111 yards and only four interceptions to go along with a passer rating of 103.4. Justin Jefferson has been a problem for the Lions over the years and, really, the entire league. Aaron Jones still looks like Aaron Jones. And Brian Flores’ defense has been a nightmare for opposing offenses, ranking first in defensive DVOA, second in rushing defense (67.2 yards per game) and fourth in points per game allowed (15.2). The Vikings have the second-most sacks (20) and the second-highest blitz rate in the league at 41.6 percent, per TruMedia. The Lions will need to be ready.
After a home game against the Titans, the Lions will again hit the road to face the Green Bay Packers (3-2) on Nov. 3, followed by a trip to Houston on Nov. 10 to play the Texans (4-1) on Sunday Night Football. Two difficult contests.
The Packers managed to keep things afloat without QB Jordan Love for a few weeks and got back in the win column with a victory over the Rams this past Sunday. Green Bay ranks third in rushing yards per game (164.8), fourth in yards per game (392) and yards per play (6.2) and eighth in points per game (25.6). Defensively the Packers don’t blitz a ton (fourth-lowest blitz rate in the NFL), but they still get home (tied for sixth in sacks with 16). S Xavier McKinney leads the league in interceptions with five — one in every game so far.
The Texans, meanwhile, could give the Lions problems. They’ve got one of the best young quarterbacks in the league in C.J. Stroud. They’ve got a trio of receivers who can get loose in the secondary in Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. Joe Mixon is a talented running back when healthy. And Houston has the third-ranked defense by DVOA, and checks in fourth in yards per game allowed (274.2).
The combined record of those five opponents is 16-8 (15-5 excluding the Titans). Consider this stretch and the fact that every NFC North team has a winning record and a point differential of plus-20 or more, and it’s easy to see why the emphasis is on improving coming out of the bye week. The Lions will need to take care of business as they try to position themselves for the best possible postseason run over the next few months.
“I’m not surprised,” Campbell said of the early strength of the division. “I mean, I expected this. I mean, I expect us sitting here in another month and it’s going to look very similar. We’re all in there together. I think it’s going to be one of the toughest divisions. I felt that way going in this year, and so I’m not shocked one bit. We knew it was going to be a competitive division. You don’t want it any other way, really. I think that’s awesome, I think it’s a good thing. And you get to duke it out with some teams that are playing really good football.”
The Lions did receive some good news coming out of the bye. C Frank Ragnow (pec) did not go on injured reserve, with the Lions optimistic he wouldn’t need four games off to heal. In the least surprising news ever, Ragnow was back on the practice field Tuesday, moving and looking like himself. Same for DB Brian Branch, who suffered a concussion in Week 3 vs. the Cardinals and cleared protocol, but missed the Seattle game with an illness. He, too, was flying around the field during individual drills on Tuesday.
And while the Lions aren’t at full strength, few teams are once the games begin. They’re about as close to it as you can be during a season. They believe they’re inching closer and closer to being the complete team Campbell’s always wanted in Detroit. A high-powered offense that can score on anyone. A defense that gets off the field when it needs to, and can pick up the slack when the offense doesn’t have it. We’ve seen glimpses of it. But showing it during a stretch like the Lions have coming up will help solidify the notion in the minds of many.
The opportunity is there. We’ll see what they make of it.
(Top photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
