10. New England Patriots
Last week: 9th
After going on a little run for three weeks, the New England Patriots came crashing back to earth against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
Not that they got the brakes beaten off them, by any means, but it was a brutal game in many respects. If it wasn’t for a busted play right before the end of the first half where Rhamondre Stevenson scored a touchdown, who knows how out of hand this one could have gotten?
Drake Maye threw another really bad red zone interception, the Patriots’ offense was 2-for-7 on 3rd-down plays, and they had 10 penalties.
Not exactly the formula for winning on the road, but there is still every reason to have confidence in this team going forward. Losing to the Bears, on the road, on a short week, and by just one score?
They’ll bounce back.
9. Detroit Lions
Last week: 11th
The Detroit Lions saved their best defensive performance of the season (so far) for the best possible time.
Playing at home against the red-hot Packers, the Lions absolutely had to have a win on Sunday, and they got it. Jared Goff continues to play MVP-caliber football, and the return of Brian Branch had an immediate impact as he picked off a Jordan Love deep ball in his first game back.
If the Lions can play complementary football like this – executing on offense and defense, even if it’s imperfect – they can go far in the postseason. So far this season, the defense has been a major area of concern. As we mentioned earlier when discussing the Packers, this was only the first game of the season in which Detroit’s defense allowed fewer than 21 points.
It’s not a coincidence that this happens in the same week that Branch returns to the lineup.
The Lions have plenty of work left to be done with the undefeated Vikings and white-hot Bears in their division as well, but this was a big step in the right direction.
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