The Lions walked out of Week 5 with a reminder of just how much their fans have bought in. In Arizona, the road crowd sounded anything but like visitors, and Dan Campbell made sure to notice.
“Our fans were outstanding. They traveled well - they traveled well to Carolina, we just didn’t give them anything to cheer about.
They took over that stadium. You could hear them and by the end of it, that was good stuff.
We hear them. We hear you.
And we love it. We love it," said Campbell of the support.
That line about not giving fans “anything to cheer about” lands with more weight now than it did in the moment. Detroit has a chance to give them plenty, but only if Brad Holmes treats this trade deadline like it matters. In a conference this shaky, standing still would be a missed opportunity.
The NFC is wide open, and the Lions are positioned to take advantage of it. Across the league’s three divisions, the picture is thin at the top and messy underneath.
The NFC East is led by the Giants at 3-2-1, followed by the Eagles and Cowboys at 2-4, with Washington at 1-3-1. The NFC South has Carolina at 3-2, then Atlanta and New Orleans at 2-4, and Tampa Bay at 1-5.
Out west, San Francisco is the lone unbeaten team at 5-0, while Seattle sits at 3-3 and both Arizona and the Rams are 2-4.
That adds up to just three teams with winning records across the entire conference through six weeks. And the teams sitting in those top spots do not exactly look like runaway powers.
The Eagles just lost Jalen Hurts for the year. The Cowboys have an even worse defense than the Lions this season.
The Cardinals are fine with piling up losses while keeping an eye on their own draft position. The Rams have fallen short across the board.
The NFC South, meanwhile, is just sort of there.
That’s why Detroit’s situation feels so favorable. The Lions have a real path to jump the Falcons, Giants, and Buccaneers later in the season, and that only sharpens the case for adding help now.
Safety and cornerback stand out as the places where even a modest upgrade could pay off. If the one clear weakness can be softened by bringing in more competence, that’s the kind of move contenders make.
The playoff race also underscores how much room Detroit has to climb. Right now, the NFC looks like the NFC North’s show.
Minnesota is 5-0 and sitting on top of the conference, while Chicago, Green Bay, and Detroit are all in the postseason mix. If the season ended today, the Lions would sneak in as the No. 7 seed.
That’s what makes the next two divisional games so important. A 2-0 start in those matchups would push Detroit to 5-2, tie the Vikings for first, and put the Lions in control of their own path with a relatively manageable stretch ahead. Even a split would keep them in the hunt and leave them in position to chase second place in the division.
In Other News...
Lions May Have A Cheap Secondary Fix They Didn't Expect
Alontae Taylors situation in Tennessee is suddenly worth watching, and not just because the Titans have already started to shuffle pieces around in their secondary. The cornerback, who had built a reputation for stronger play with the Saints, has seen that stock dip since arriving in Tennessee, and now Detroit is being mentioned as a possible landing spot if the Lions decide they want another inexpensive way to bolster their back end.
For a Detroit defense that has been searching for answers in the secondary, Taylor is the kind of name that can make sense on paper: young enough to matter, experienced enough to help, and potentially available if Tennessees view of his fit keeps going south. Nothing has been finalized, but the possibility alone is enough to keep an eye on, especially if the Lions are looking for a move that could change their defensive depth without costing them much. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Defensive Blame Is Starting To Shift In A Telling Way
The Lions defensive frustrations have naturally put Kelvin Sheppard under a microscope, but the conversation around what is actually wrong in that unit is starting to broaden. ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell has pushed back on the idea that the problems belong to the coordinator alone, arguing that the deeper issue is a shortage of talent in the defensive backfield, which has made the secondary easier to attack all season.
Detroit did show something to build on in Week 5, when the defense turned in a much stronger outing and gave Dan Campbell reason to sound more encouraged. Campbell praised Sheppard and the group for the progress, but he also made clear the standard has not changed, and the Lions still need more consistent play before anyone can call the defense fixed. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Face A Tough Week 7 Test If One Defensive Issue Lingers
The Lions are headed into a Week 7 home meeting with the Packers in a spot that should draw plenty of attention, especially with Green Bay bringing a very different look than the version Detroit saw in past seasons. The Packers have made major changes in both the coaching staff and the roster, including the arrival of Jonathan Gannon as head coach along with a number of personnel moves on both sides of the ball, and that kind of turnover can make an opponent harder to project from one week to the next.
For Detroit, the bigger concern is whether a lingering defensive issue shows up again at the wrong time. The Lions can get by when their defense is organized and on schedule, but this matchup has the feel of one where any uncertainty could matter, particularly against a Packers team still sorting out its identity. If the same problem hangs around into Sunday, it could turn a straightforward divisional test into a much trickier afternoon than the Lions want. [Read more 🡒]