Are the Kansas City Chiefs or Detroit Lions the best team in the NFL? Let’s take a look at some NFL Week 8 power rankings.
Are the Detroit Lions the best team in football? Advanced analytics seem to think so, but what about the NFL analysts who are paid to expound on such subjects?
Well, for the first time this year, in the nine NFL power rankings articles that we gather every week, the Lions are unanimously in the top two. However, the jury is split: are the 6-1 Lions the top team in the NFL or do the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs hold the top spot?
The Chiefs have a convincing argument given three factors: they’re the only remaining undefeated team, they have the best quarterback in football (even if Patrick Mahomes is currently struggling), and they’re coming off back-to-back Super Bowls. We can trust their legitimacy.
However, if just assessing teams by their 2024 performance, it’s hard not to look at the Lions as the best team right now. They rank first in DVOA, while the Chiefs are fourth. Detroit has scored the most points per game in football, while Kansas City is ninth. The Lions rank higher in both offensive EPA (fourth vs. 10th) and defensive EPA (fifth vs. 10th).
Here’s what other NFL analysts have to say on the topic, in our Week 9 NFL power rankings roundup:
MMQB: 1 (Last week: 1)
One thing I love about Dan Campbell is that when he walks to the podium for a press conference, he grabs it by the shoulders like someone he bullied in high school. When he’s about to start talking, he’s there. When I was reporting for the magazine on Campbell and the Lions for our football preview issue, there was a note about the beauty in the way he meanders through talking points—sometimes with no conclusion or meaning. It’s with that in mind that his weekly Game Balls segment is a must watch for me. This team has to keep winning.
The Ringer: 1 (Last week: 1)
You know a team is loaded when it scores 52 points on a subpar offensive day.
If all you saw of the Lions-Titans game on Sunday were the highlights on NFL RedZone, you might have come away thinking Detroit put on an offensive performance master class. In reality, Detroit finished Sunday’s game with just 61 net passing yards because of a handful of sacks, but it still coasted for three quarters on its way to a 38-point win. This team can beat you however it wants, and against Tennessee, it did so by forcing turnovers and delivering the best special teams performance we’ve seen in the NFL this season (Detroit’s special teams gained over 250 yards on their punt and kick returns).
The Athletic: 1 (Last week: 1)
Something Scary: They’re peaking too early?
That’s about the only thing we can find to worry the Lions right now. Detroit is averaging 43 points per game since Week 4 and its average margin of victory in that span is 22.8 points. Jared Goff passed for 85 yards Sunday, and the Lions scored 51 points. For the season, the Lions lead the league in rushing success rate (47.5 percent) and are second in expected points added through the run game (.12 per carry), according to TruMedia.
NFL.com: 1 (Last week: 3)
The Lions take over the top spot because they continue to win not only impressively, but seemingly in a different fashion every week. Late in the third quarter on Sunday, the Lions had 49 points and Jared Goff had 57 pass yards. Goff had some tough moments behind a surprisingly leaky Lions offensive line early in the game, but the defense, special teams and run game took care of business in impressive fashion. Five of Detroit’s first 10 possessions started in Tennessee territory, mostly thanks to turnovers forced and long special-teams returns, and the Lions scored touchdowns on all five of those drives. That’s what good teams do. Detroit turned in another good defensive showing without Aidan Hutchinson, and the offense didn’t miss the suspended Jameson Williams in this one. This Sunday’s test at Green Bay will be much stiffer, but the Lions can crank it up as well as any team in the league right now. Dan Campbell’s bunch is a legitimate Super Bowl threat in a muddled NFC field.
Sporting News: 2 (Last week: 2)
The Lions looked sharp again offensively by spreading the ball around in a different way to keep Jared Goff hyper-efficient. They should be considered strong NFC favorites after knocking off Minnesota and dropping 50 on Tennessee in back-to-back weeks.
Yahoo Sports: 2 (Last week: 2)
Over Detroit’s past five games they have more touchdowns (25) than incompletions (20), the first team since the 1970 merger to do that over a five-game stretch, according to CBS. Yeah, this team is fun to watch.
CBS Sports: 2 (Last week: 2)
They racked up 52 points against the Titans and didn’t need to do a lot on offense. The special teams came up big in that one as they head into a giant division game against the Packers.
The 33rd team: 2 (Last week: 2)
The Detroit Lions had nine net passing yards in the first half against the Titans. For any other team in the league, that would mean they would be down by double digits.
But for the Lions, it just shows how dominant they are on offense as the ground attack took over. Detroit scored 35 points in the first half as Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery both got into the end zone. The Lions have the NFL’s best offense, and it’s not really close, either.
USA Today: 2 (Last week: 3)
Their 172 points over the past four games are a franchise record, the most by any team over a four-game stretch in five years, and put them on pace to become just the 30th team in league annals to score at least 500 points.
