Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys fans heading in opposite directions

Lions and Cowboys fans are feeling very different about their respective teams going into Week 6.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey, we asked Detroit Lions fans two questions:

1. Are you confident the Lions are headed in the right direction?
2. What is the most likely outcome of the Lions at Cowboys?

Lions fans have been very confident in the direction Detroit has been headed for the majority of the season, and last week 99% of fans overwhelmingly showed they were behind the team.

With the Lions on a bye and little room for improvement in the survey, it’s not overly surprising to see the Lions dip a bit in this week’s poll. This week’s results show that 96% of Lions fans are confident in the direction of the team, which lines up with expectations. Out of curiosity, we glanced at the survey results run by our brother site Blogging The Boys, and we saw some surprising results:

Whew, 37%. Keep in mind, the Cowboys are coming off three 12-5 seasons, and are 3-2 this year, including winning the most recent two games. It gets even stranger when you look at how Cowboys fans have voted in previous confidence surveys, and realize that last week’s confidence poll only drew 11% approval from fans—and that was after a win over the division rival Giants.

But before you think Cowboys fans may be going through a resurgence, after increasing their percentage by more than three times what it was in the previous week, let’s take a look at how the results from the second question played out.

According to the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Lions are 3-point favorites in this game, which led to the question: What is the most likely outcome of the Lions at Cowboys? A whopping 90% of Lions fans confidently believed the Lions would win this game, with 74% believing the Lions would win and cover the spread. When Cowboys fans were asked what they believed the outcome of this game would be, just 26% of Dallas fans were siding with their Cowboys.

When we expanded to a national level, there was even more support for the Lions, as 81% of NFL fans believed Detroit would cover the 3-point spread:

Whew.

It’s also worth pointing out that all of these surveys were run BEFORE the news that the Cowboys would be without defensive starters Micah Parsons and Eric Kendricks for this game.

To get a closer look into the minds of Lions fans, here are a few of the explanations from the comment section of the original article, lightly edited for length and clarity:

• ajmojo: “The fact that the loss to the Cowboys still eats at Dan makes me believe this is going to be knee cap biting pain fest for the Cowboys. Statement game coming up.”
• LionsTACKLE!!!: “We stick to our strength in running the ball which is supposedly Dallas’ weakness. This opens up play-action and wide-open lanes for Goff to pick them apart. The sustained drives keep Dallas from getting into a groove offensively. We win.”
• GMJOE: “It’s a good year to settle all family business. Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers. Last year’s losses. This year wins.”

And just for fun, let’s check in with Cowboys fans in the comment section of the Blogging the Boys survey asking: if fans are confident in the team, and; if the Cowboys will beat the Lions:

• Nate8888: “Easiest Survey ever!!!!!! No to both.”