The Lions are the best team nobody’s really talking about

Sorry, Lions fans. Y’all found another way to lose on Sunday, and I might have jinxed you. I was flipping through the games, saw the ending and tweeted out how impressed I was with the Lions’ victory. Oops.

I’m still impressed with the Lions through three games this season. They’re legit contenders in the NFC, at 2-1, having just lost the reigning NFC champions — and favorites to repeat with that title — by six inches! The Lions are improved in almost every aspect of their team.

I was signed by the Detroit Lions in the spring of 2016 by new general manager Bob Quinn. My time was short in Detroit, but I came away impressed by the staff. Head coach Jim Caldwell is respected by everyone on the team and treats the players like adults. He’s never going to show much emotion; however, when he does, you know he means business.

Quinn came from New England and started to build the roster to aid Matt Stafford, signing wide receiver Marvin Jones and fortifying the trenches. In 2016 the Lions drafted left tackle Taylor Decker in the first round, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson in the second, and current left guard Graham Glasgow in the third. This year, they went with a middle linebacker in round one, fixing a need for them and, again, helping to make the team tougher.

I’ve written about this before, but some teams don’t pair up personnel to scheme. It makes no sense to me. That’s not true with the Lions. Stafford is a perfect fit for Jim Bob Cooter’s offense. It’s an uptempo offense that relies on Stafford to make quick decisions with the ball and turn short passes into long runs. Last season Golden Tate led NFL wide receivers in yards after the catch. The running backs are quick and excellent pass catchers. The offense is physical in the run game and the pass game. They jump defenders now, allowing Stafford a firm pocket.

On defense, they employ almost an old-school 4-3 even defense, with their line trying to get up the field. There is no read and react for that bunch. In the back end, they rely on the defensive backs to be sound in their assignments knowing they won’t blitz much and might have to defend longer than usual. The Lions have a shutdown corner in Darius Slay and an excellent safety in Glover Quin.

Last season, the Lions were on a roll until Stafford broke his finger down the stretch. That derailed their season. They eventually lost the division to the Packers, and the following week lost in Seattle in the Wild Card round.

Stafford got a $135 million contract extension this offseason and expectations were high. However, most pundits weren’t as high on the Lions because of their unbelievable success in close games last season (7-2 in games decided by fewer than seven points). That tends to not carry over year to year.

Well, the Lions are here to stay. It’s a small sample size, but through three games, they have improved in many categories. According to Football Outsiders DVOA, which measures efficiency, the Lions entered Week 3 at fourth in the NFL. Last season, they were 27th. The Lions were -1 in turnover margin in 2016 and through three weeks, they are +6, first in the NFL.

They are making plays like this one from Sunday.

Matt Ryan audibles the play. Notice Lions safety Glover Quin, No. 27? He’s calling out the route before running it for the Falcons and taking the ball to the house.

Since 2013, Quin is tied for the second-most interceptions (18) in the NFL.

The Lions also are tied for the lead in the NFL with 29 pass breakups. Darius Slay has six of the 29, and on Sunday he was tasked with guarding Julio Jones. In that matchup, Jones was targeted eight times with just four receptions for 50 yards.

Last season, the Lions had zero pass rush. They were near the bottom of the league in hits, which is considered sacks plus all the times the QB gets knocked down by a defender. This season, they have seen an uptick early in the season. They have 20 hits through three games (6.7 per game) after generating 68 hits all season last year (4.3 per game).

Those 20 hits have come on 123 dropbacks this year (16.3 percent) compared to 68 hits on 575 dropbacks (11.8 percent) last year.

With all the nice things being said, they did get gashed on Sunday by the Falcons, which happens to every team playing them inside on turf. The Falcons are almost unstoppable in those conditions. Their run defense, which had been steller in the first two weeks (playing against two teams who don’t run the ball well), it wasn’t as great on Sunday.

I wouldn’t worry though. Let’s see how they fare this weekend.

Offensively, Stafford is once again playing at a high level and being efficient with the offense. The revamped offensive line — a new right guard and right tackle from free agency, a new left tackle because of injury, and some swapping of parts inside because of injury — has protected Stafford well, only allowing six sacks and 14 total hits in three games.

Stafford is seventh in quarterback rating, and while he’s average to below average in yards per attempt, that’s more a function of the offense. He can sling the ball downfield with precision, as he did on this play from Sunday

Running the ball has been an issue for the Lions for a while now. They have been at or near the bottom of rushing totals for the last three seasons. In 2016, the Lions only averaged 81 yards rushing per game. No Bueno. This season, that’s up to 97 yards per game.

Here’s a simple pin-and-pull play against the Giants from Week 2. The Giants, for whatever reason, haven’t had a stout run defense, but that’s not the point. Everyone in white does their job, even the tight end. It’s a beauty to watch.

Lastly, the Lions offense has been helped by their special teams. They are leading the NFL in average starting field position and, not surprisingly, are first in punt return average. Every little bit helps.

Maybe I’m biased because I enjoyed my couple of months in Detroit, but I believe in this franchise and the direction they are going. Jim Caldwell runs a tight ship. The players respect him and will always compete for him. Their coaching staff and front office are on the same page, and the Lions have continued to improve in the areas it takes to win football games.

They are the front-runner to win the NFC North.