Don’t look now, but after the Detroit Lions‘ 30-12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, they’re actually 2-3-1 since their bye week on Nov. 7.
That’s not quite playoff-worthy, but it has certainly sent the premonitions of the franchise going 0-17 back into cold storage (from whence we’re sure they’ll be hauled out when the Lions struggle to open next season).
Of course, that stretch of pure mediocrity has also botched the team’s shot at picking No. 1 in next year’s draft, thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ descent to the bottom of the standings. Yes, their 2-12 is half a game worse than the Lions’ 2-11-1. Urban Meyer is gone, but former Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell is holding the same job down in Duval County, though this time he lost his debut in the top job. (The Freep’s Dave Birkett broke down the final three games of the season for both teams after Sunday’s victory.)
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In any event, the Lions looked like a franchise that was all grown up, especially at quarterback, where Jared Goff had his best perfomance as a Lion, going 21-for-26 for 216 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 139.7 passer rating was not only his best this season, it was the best by a Lions quarterback since Matthew Stafford (shocker, we know) completed 20 of 29 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers on Dec. 31, 2017. Yes, that was an entire head coaching tenure — hi, Matt Patricia! — ago.
Of course, that was Sunday, and the Lions are on to the Atlanta Falcons, whose narrow road to the playoffs developed a pothole after their 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons, at 6-8, sit behind four teams for the seventh and final spot in the NFC as they try to get their offense — essentially Matt Ryan to former Viking Cordarelle Patterson and rookie tight end Kyle Pitts — back on track.
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Before that, though, Lions head coach Dan Campbell will kick off the week by speaking with the media to give updates on injuries and any other potential news.
Follow along as Campbell takes the podium at 2:15 p.m.
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.