Detroit Lions
Don’t get us wrong. We love the moves Detroit made to acquire offensive tackle Rick Wagner and guard T.J. Lang. If these guys play up to their potential, then Matthew Stafford should continue to ascend. He was playing some tremendous football last year before a painful finger injury derailed his season.
That said, the Lions still don’t have a running game — both offensive linemen landed in free agency are better in pass protection — and are still searching for a defense that can hold up against the pass.
Throw in the fact that we can almost bank on Green Bay making it to the playoffs (eight straight years, plus, you know, Aaron Rodgers), that Minnesota improved its offensive line and has a very good defense, and that Chicago isn’t going to be a slouch in 2017.
It’s definitely no given the Lions will be back into the playoffs this upcoming season.
Then there’s some simple history. The Lions haven’t made it to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since the 1995 campaign. Since that time, they’ve made it to postseason play just five times total and three times in the past six seasons. And in the past six years, the three years Detroit didn’t make it into the playoffs it was a below-.500 ball club.