2020 NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys defense has hopes high

Detroit Lions move up from 27 to 24

Before getting hurt last season, quarterback Matthew Stafford was playing out of his mind. In eight games, he had completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,499 yards with 19 touchdowns against just five interceptions. As impressive as that was, the Detroit Lions were just 3-4-1 in that span which will give some doubters a reason to doubt Stafford.

Of course, they were just 3-12-1 on the season, and for those keeping score at home, that means Detroit was 0-8 without their starting quarterback. That means the issues this team is facing aren’t all on No. 9. However, there are some issues that do fall on his shoulders.

Fair or not, the Lions have had just four winning seasons with Stafford under center since he was drafted first overall in 2009. They’re also on the verge of losing a head coach again with Matt Patricia sitting on a hot season this season.

Should there end up being a coaching change, that could be bad for Stafford as another coach could end up wanting their own guy. The good news is, the Lions have improved their defense some this offseason and the selection of D’Andre Swift could take a lot of the pressure off Stafford.

2020 is a big season for him and the Lions head coach. They have the heat on them and it will be hard to get the job done in their tough division.