NFL Power Rankings, Week 11: Falcons stun Saints, Vikings hold strong

By Dan Parzych | Nov 11, 2019

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 10: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts after throwing a touchdown pass during a NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

28. Detroit Lions (19)

The news surrounding Matthew Stafford‘s back injury was a crushing blow for the Detroit Lions on offense since the quarterback’s toughness always seems to give his team a fighting chance, and they certainly could have used him during Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears.

With the Bears struggling in recent weeks along with the Lions losing a few tough ones of their own, this was a game that Detroit couldn’t afford to lose to avoid digging a deeper hole in the AFC standings.

Losing by seven points to their rivals certainly hurts, but at least the Lions should be somewhat thrilled to see Jeff Driskel perform better than expected.

It would have been one thing if Driskel prepared all week to start against the Bears, but throwing the backup quarterback into the starting lineup put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

But after watching Driskel nearly help Detroit pull off an upset, the Lions should feel better about their quarterback situation since they will need to rely on him moving forward.

Driskel is nowhere near the same level as Stafford, and the Lions clearly need all of the extra help possible in the ground game, but here’s to hoping the Lions can find a way to surprise on offense moving forward, or it’s going to be a brutal finish to 2019.

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