2017 NFL Power Rankings: Where do Los Angeles Rams stand heading into Week 1 preseason?

21. Detroit Lions

Last year, the Detroit Lions were one of those teams who could never be counted out of football games after orchestrating eight comebacks in the fourth quarter, mainly thanks to the play of Matthew Stafford at quarterback. After his ability to stay healthy was a concern early on in his career, Stafford has turned himself into one of the league’s most elite quarterbacks over the years who constantly makes the players around him better, but do the Lions have what it takes to make another playoff run?

Detroit was in perfect position to take home the NFC North title at the end of last year before losing the final three games of the regular season to settle for a Wild Card spot instead, which eventually led to an early playoff exit against the Seattle Seahawks. While the argument can be made things would have turned out much better for the Lions if Stafford wasn’t dealing with that finger injury, this could easily just end up motivating him even more to make sure the team remains contenders in the NFC North.

There’s no question Stafford and Detroit can count on key receivers like Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, but the one area that could hold this offense back is the ground game. A quarterback like Stafford, who has thrown for more than 4,200 yards in each of the last six seasons, can only do so much on his own without the proper help at running back, and here’s to hoping Ameer Abdullah can finally come through.