Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in fans across the country. Sign up here to participate.
Is it finally safe to feel excited about the Detroit Lions?
According to the latest SB Nation Reacts Survey, fans are starting to be optimistic on the Lions’ future.
Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
It wasn’t that long ago that the concept of being high on the Detroit Lions was something that should be handled by medical professionals. The Lions were a joke, a laughing stock. But now things may have changed.
While the Lions are still a game under .500 on the season, they have won five of the last six games and sit just a game and a half out of the playoffs. They are winning and getting plenty of attention in the process.
Not only are the Lions finding success, they are interesting. And in a much better way than Lions teams of the past were “interesting.” Head coach Dan Campbell is a caricature of a football guy and it’s working. Jared Goff has gone from a quarterback bust to a reinvented success story.
Of course, the Lions are still a ways away from being a Super Bowl contender. For now, they sit among a group of surprising teams getting attention this year. But according to the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, the Lions stand above the rest of their counterparts as the team most likely to reach a conference championship game.
The Lions more than doubled the total votes of the next team, the New York Jets, who are above .500 and are only a tiebreaker out of the playoffs.
This isn’t to say fans think the Lions will reach this season’s NFC Championship Game. But fans across the country seem to think this team will continue to improve and grow. In the NFC North, that feels extremely possible. The Packers are a growing question mark, the Bears are in the early stage of their own rebuild, and even at 10-3 not even Las Vegas seems to trust the Vikings.
The Lions have a chance to continue their hot run this week against the aforementioned Jets. According to fans, the Lions will get that win. Here are the full slate of Week 15 fan picks.
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