Lions' Week 5 Power Rankings

The Week 5 power rankings are out, and the Lions fall in the majority of them this week

The Detroit Lions lost for the 14th time in their last 16 games when they fell, 35-29, to the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field this past Sunday.

Detroit's defense was simply unable to stop Drew Brees and the Saints' rushing attack.

Lions head coach Matt Patricia now must go back to the drawing board to figure out what has caused the defense to collapse when facing off against upper-echelon offenses.

How does the loss impact the Lions' status in the national media power rankings? Let's take a look.

Sports Illustrated

Week 5 rank: 26th

Previous rank: 23rd

"If there’s good news here, it’s that the schedule softens a little over the month after the bye, so the Lions can build some momentum."

NFL.com

Week 5 rank: 24th

Previous rank: 22nd

"The Lions are the first team since the 2011 Vikings to lose three of their first four games after holding double-digit leads in each of those defeats. On Sunday, they jumped out to a 14-0 lead over the Saints before surrendering five consecutive touchdown drives in an eventual 35-29 loss. It's rinse-and-repeat in the Matt Patricia era. He is now 10-25-1 in his time in Detroit, and we've officially reached the stage where postgame availabilities with players are peppered with questions about the head coach's viability in the big chair. The Lions are on their bye week, and if management wanted to make a change, it probably would have happened already. Patricia still has time to save his job ... but the sands are slipping through the hourglass."

ESPN

Week 5 rank: 25th

Previous rank: 23rd

"The Lions are in a bad place at the moment at 1-3 heading into their bye. They're unable to stop the run, and they have a largely invisible pass rush and an offense with major inconsistencies. Detroit's biggest hope is its October and November schedule, which features only one team (Indianapolis) with a winning record through four weeks. If Detroit can capitalize, it has a chance of being able to play games that matter in December. But the Lions have to improve a lot -- a lot -- between now and then for that to happen."

Bleacher Report

Week 5 rank: 25th

Previous rank: 20th

"For a time Sunday, it looked like the Detroit Lions had an upset on their minds. Detroit scored the first two touchdowns of its matchup with a Saints team that had dropped two straight heading into Week 4.But then Lions happened, and Detroit allowed 35 unanswered points before mounting a late comeback that came up short.

The loss dropped Matt Patricia's record as Detroit's head coach to an abysmal 10-25-1. 

The Lions now head into the bye week in a depressingly familiar place: the NFC North basement. And it's fair to wonder how much longer Patricia will be around as the losses mount."

NBC Sports

Week 5  rank: 25th

Previous rank: 20th

"Matt Patricia's losses are bad and his excuses are worse. He said "there was a lot of work to do" when he arrived in Detroit, even though he inherited a 9-7 team and is now 10-25-1 as the Lions' head coach."

CBS Sports

Week 5 rank: 22nd

Previous rank: 20th

"The defense isn't close to being good enough. The Matt Patricia watch is back on after the home loss to the Saints."

Detroit Free Press

Week 5 rank: 25th

Previous rank: 20th

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