NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: Saints clinch top seed, Ravens take over AFC North

27. Detroit Lions (25)

Even though they have nothing to play for at this point in the season other than draft position, the Detroit Lions would have loved nothing more than to defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday to shake up the NFC playoff picture a little bit. After jumping out to a 9-0 lead, the Lions seemed like they had the potential to actually pull off the win over their division rivals, that is until the Vikings ran away with the 27-9 victory.

As bad as it sounds, this game was the perfect example of how this season has been for Detroit when considering many believed this team was capable of being a surprise contender in the NFC, which obviously wasn’t the case one bit. Matt Patricia has taken plenty of heat for the team coming up short in 2018, but for the Lions, the real question needs to be figuring out whether Matthew Stafford is the right answer under center.

While there have been times in which Stafford has looked like one of the toughest quarterbacks in the NFL, the former No. 1 pick seems like he’s taken a step back this season. By missing out on the playoffs for a second year in a row, it will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments are made during the offseason for Detroit since they clearly are in need of a few changes on both sides of the football.