NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Packers bounce back, Seahawks stumble

Just a few weeks ago, things seemed beyond bleak for the Detroit Lions. They had fallen to 1-3 on the season as the New Orleans Saints scored a 35-29 victory over them. This start was less than ideal and it was easy to see why head coach Matt Patricia was coming under fire.

Since then, they’ve turned things around slightly. They made it look easy in their following game as they knocked off the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 34-16. Then in Week 7, it looked as though they were going to fall to the Atlanta Falcons but then they pulled a rabbit out of their hat.

Detroit surrendered a touchdown to Todd Gurley with just over one minute left in the game and that left them facing a 22-16 deficit. Unbothered by the lack of time, Matt Stafford led the offense right down the field and hit T.J. Hockenson for an 11-yard game-winning touchdown. That moved the Lions to 3-3 and they suddenly don’t look to be a team that should start planning for next season.

Of course, beating two teams with terrible records isn’t exactly cause for believing a team has completely turned the corner. But it is something they need to do to find success. Next week against Indianapolis will be a real test for Detroit to see if they can ride this momentum and take the next step as a team.