Lions' Week 8 Power Rankings: Cracking the Top 20

The Week 8 power rankings are out, and the Lions have moved up in the majority of the national rankings this week

How does a victory over the Atlanta Falcons impact the Lions' status in the national media power rankings? Let's take a look.

Sports Illustrated

Week 8 rank: 20th

Previous rank: 24th

"At 3–3, Detroit is on pace to be confounding for another 10 weeks. Matt Stafford seems to be turning the corner, and the Lions have a very weak portion of their schedule coming up with games against Minnesota and Washington looming in the not so distant future."

NFL.com

Week 8 rank: 21st

Previous rank: 22nd

"What a relief it must have been for the Lions to be on the winning end of a dramatic finish for once. Todd Gurley's inability to stop his momentum gave the Lions life, and Matthew Stafford potentially saved Detroit's season with a 75-yard touchdown drive that spanned 64 seconds. That the Lions did it without the aid of a timeout made their comeback all the more unlikely. Stafford's winning touchdown pass was completed to T.J. Hockenson, who now has three scores in his last three games and is starting to tap into the promise that made him a first-round pick a year ago. The Lions get the Colts at home before the schedule lightens up. This is their chance to make a move."

SI All Lions

Week 8 rank: 19th

Previous rank: 22nd

Matthew Stafford proved yet again why you can't leave time on the clock and still expect to win. 

Detroit's use of zone coverage in the secondary has helped the past two weeks. 

Detroit now faces it's biggest test during this portion of their schedule when they take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday from Ford Field.

Sporting News

Week 8 rank: 18th

Previous rank: 22nd

"The Lions are doing their best to play better for Matt Patricia. They've hit the right note in their offense with Matthew Stafford and D'Andre Swift — just in time for a comeback win back in Georgia. The defense is showing signs of responding, too, for two straight weeks."

ESPN

Week 8 rank: 22nd

Previous rank: 23rd

"While the Lions are seeing better play from rookie D'Andre Swift, they need to get more from the Peterson. The future Hall of Famer's numbers might not look too bad, but his production is trending down. He has gone from 6.64 yards per carry in Week 1 to 2.64 yards per carry in Week 7. If Detroit is going to give Peterson 10 or 11 carries a contest instead of, say, going to Kerryon Johnson or using Swift more, Peterson needs to be doing more with those opportunities. It's not all his fault: The playcalling hasn't always been advantageous to him, often resulting in runs in fairly predictable situations. Some playcall diversification from offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell might help."

Bleacher Report

Week 8 rank: 21st

Previous rank: 21st

"Seven weeks into the 2020 season, the Detroit Lions are .500.After outlasting the Falcons in one of Week 7's wildest games, the Lions sit at 3-3. That's good for just third place in the NFC North and leaves the team on the outside looking in at the postseason, but it's still better than most expected.Sunday's win came courtesy of an improbable 75-yard drive with just over a minute left and no timeouts -- a drive that left quarterback Matthew Stafford smiling from ear to ear."

NBC Sports

Week 8 rank: 22nd

Previous rank: 24th

"It's weird to say that the Lions have a clean slate through seven weeks, but they've really found a way to balance out their season ... to some extent, at least. Now while they have a 3-3 record, their past two wins have come against teams with terrible records, so it's hard to think it's anything more than just beating the worse team. Their schedule for the remainder of the season isn't too difficult either, so let's see what they make of it."

CBS Sports

Week 8 rank: 16th

Previous rank: 23rd

"At 3-3, they have righted their season. The defense has made strides the past two weeks, which is key to their turnaround. Now they face a good Indianapolis team that will tell a better story of where they are as a team."

Detroit Free Press

Week 8 rank: 19th

Previous rank: 22nd

"The Detroit Lions, as we’ve seen this season -- and for most of my 11 years covering the team -- are neither one of the few best teams in the NFL nor one of the few worst. I’ve covered the Lions long enough to know they probably have a win against a pretty good team in them still, and probably a loss against a team they have no business losing to, too. That’s how the NFL works."

Get the latest Detroit Lions news by joining our community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our SI All Lions page. Mobile users click the notification bell. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @DetroitPodcast.