Power Rankings: Lions Are Historic NFL Team

Where Lions stand in polls after Week 12 win over Colts.

Detroit Lions fans cheer on against Indianapolis Colts. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here's a look at where the Detroit Lions stand in national power rankings following their 24-6 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12 to improve to 10-1 on the season.

Sports Illustrated

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

The Lions—12 games into the season by the way—have become the first team in NFL history to have a running back tandem score 10-plus touchdowns apiece in back to back seasons. I said this on The Athletic Football Show the other week and it drew some criticism which I’m ready to take on: In my 14 years of covering the NFL this is the best football team I have seen. The most complete. The most pristine vibes. The most ways they can defeat a team. I’m not saying anything Detroit doesn’t know. It’s Super Bowl or nothing now. 

The Athletic

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

The Lions last won a championship in 1957. It was not the Super Bowl because that was still a decade away from being invented. This team absolutely can break that drought. Detroit leads the league in scoring (32.7 ppg) and point differential (plus-177) and is second in points allowed (16.6) after dismissing the Colts. Barry Sanders’ statue outside of Ford Field is eight feet tall. How tall would Dan Campbell’s be?

CBS Sports

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

They are a brutish, power team that can knock you off the ball and yet still hit shots off of that. The defense played well against the Colts.

Yahoo Sports 

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

The Lions’ defense with Aidan Hutchinson: 5 games, 18.2 points allowed per game, 329.4 yards allowed per game. Without Hutchinson: 6 games, 15.3 points allowed per game, 316 yards allowed per game. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will be a hot name next offseason.

Lions Are 10.5-Point Betting Favorite Against Bears

Detroit Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs, left, and David Montgomery record a video / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bleacher Report

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

The current version of the Lions is the best team in the franchise's history. It has existed since 1930. At 10-1, they are tied for the organization's best start ever, and it's pretty safe to say this group could easily dispatch the '34 version that held the same record. To understand just how long ago that really was, the previous 10-1 edition came during the franchise's first season in Detroit with Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first term as President of the United States. The attack on Pearl Harbor was still seven years away from occurring.

Dan Campbell's Lions aren't just good; they're historically good.

USA Today

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

In their 95-season existence, they'd never had double-digit wins in back-to-back years … until now. Currently the NFC's top seed, the Lions are on their way to consecutive 12-win campaigns – an effort that should be made easier given they don't play on the road again until Dec. 22.

ESPN

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

The Lions' FPI rankings reflect this team as arguably the best overall across the league. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has the offense humming with 20 or more points in nine consecutive games, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn hasn't allowed a touchdown through 10 straight quarters despite losing Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (tibia/fibula) in Week 6. Detroit has used a well-balanced team to get off to its best start in 90 years.