NFL Power Rankings, Week 10: Rams face plenty of pressure following bye week

19. Detroit Lions (15)

With a matchup against the defense of the Oakland Raiders, the Detroit Lions felt confident enough that Matthew Stafford would have a field day in Week 9 to help the team get above .500 for the first time since the middle of September.

While Stafford certainly had an amazing game after throwing for 406 yards to go along with three touchdowns, this still wasn’t enough for the Lions since the defense failed to come through on their end during the 31-24 loss to the Raiders.

Down the road, this could be one of those games in which Detroit ends up kicking themselves over since they missed a perfect opportunity to gain some ground in the NFC West standings since every other team within the division lost in Week 9.

Talent wise, the Lions appear to have the kind of offense that seems capable of being dangerous in the playoffs if the opportunity were to present itself.

But until the defense figures out a way to improve, Detroit could end up spending another year watching the playoffs from home.

A quarterback like Stafford can only do so much on his own without the proper support on the defensive side of the football, and even though the Lions knew it would be difficult to win in Oakland, this still doesn’t make the loss any easier to deal with.