Power Rankings: Lions Team to Beat in NFC

Where Lions stand amongst NFL teams after eight weeks of 2024 season.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell shakes hands with Titans coach Brian Callahan / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions produced a convicincing win over the Tennessee Titans to earn their fifth straight victory and improve to 6-1 on the season.

Here's a look at where the Lions rank in a series of power rankings from pundits and analysts across the league.

Sports Illustrated

Power ranking: 1st

Previous rank: 1st

One thing I love about Dan Campbell is that when he walks to the podium for a press conference, he grabs it by the shoulders like someone he bullied in high school. When he’s about to start talking, he’s there. When I was reporting for the magazine on Campbell and the Lions for our football preview issue, there was a note about the beauty in the way he meanders through talking points—sometimes with no conclusion or meaning. It’s with that in mind that his weekly Game Balls segment is a must watch for me. This team has to keep winning.

The Athletic

Power ranking: 1st

Previous ranking: 1st

They're peaking too early. That’s about the only thing we can find to worry the Lions right now. Detroit is averaging 43 points per game since Week 4 and its average margin of victory in that span is 22.8 points. Jared Goff passed for 85 yards Sunday, and the Lions scored 51 points. For the season, the Lions lead the league in rushing success rate (47.5 percent) and are second in expected points added through the run game (.12 per carry), according to TruMedia.

CBS Sports

Power ranking: 2nd

Previous rank: 2nd

They racked up 52 points against the Titans and didn't need to do a lot on offense. The special teams came up big in that one as they head into a giant division game against the Packers.

Yahoo Sports

Power ranking: 2nd

Previous rank: 2nd

Over Detroit’s past five games they have more touchdowns (25) than incompletions (20), the first team since the 1970 merger to do that over a five-game stretch, according to CBS. Yeah, this team is fun to watch.

Additional Reading: Detroit Lions LT Taylor Decker Film Review

Bleacher Report

Power ranking: 2nd

Previous rank: 2nd

The Lions are clearly the team to beat in the NFC, and they might be the best team in the NFL. I'd still like to see Detroit make a defensive addition or two ahead of the trade deadline, but the offense (and special teams) can cover up a lot of warts even if it doesn't.

Jared Goff is playing some of the best football of his career, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is making the most of Detroit's glut of playmakers. The Lions are beatable, but the list of teams that can knock them off in January is quite short.

USA Today

Power ranking: 2nd

Previous rank: 3rd

Their 172 points over the past four games are a franchise record, the most by any team over a four-game stretch in five years, and put them on pace to become just the 30th team in league annals to score at least 500 points.

ESPN

Power ranking: 2nd

Previous rank: 2nd

Bates signed as a free agent with the Lions in June after one season in the UFL and a brief stint with the Texans in 2023. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 7 after nailing the game-winning 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to help Detroit secure a victory at Minnesota. Bates is 11-for-11 on field goals and 27-for-28 on extra points this season