Survey: Are you confident the Detroit Lions are headed in the right direction?

Nov 30, 2022 - 7:15 PM

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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.

It’s been a while since the Detroit Lions have been playing meaningful football beyond their annual Thanksgiving Day game, so this week, we are going to get back to basics and just stick with our weekly survey question:

Are you confident the Lions are headed in the right direction?

Let’s recap how the responses to this question have evolved throughout the season. After a win over the Commanders and two tough losses to the Eagles and Vikings—the top 2 teams in the NFC right now—Lions’ fans’ confidence in the team’s direction was pretty high, finishing at 88% after three weeks.

Then the Lions hit a rough patch and lost their next three games. To no one’s surprise, as the losses piled up, fans’ confidence plummeted, dipping below 50% after the Patriots’ shutout loss and landing at 56% after losses to the Cowboys and Dolphins.

But over the last month, the Lions appear to have righted the ship after they rattled off three consecutive wins—over the Packers, Bears, and Giants—and watched their stock climb to 82%, then 91%, and 96% as they entered their Thanksgiving game against the Bills.

The Lions lost to the Bills—tied with the Dolphins for the second-best record in the AFC behind the Chiefs—on their annual holiday game, but it was once again a close result, as Buffalo needed a last-second field goal to secure the 28-25 win.

By now, you’ve probably heard the Lions have had one of the more difficult schedules through the first 11 games of the season, but if you haven’t taken a moment to look back, allow me to point a few things out.

Among the six best teams in the NFL now—eight or more wins this season—the Lions have had to face five of them. They lost to the Eagles by 3 points, Vikings by 4 points, Cowboys by 18 (though they were down just 4 points with less than three minutes left before things unraveled), the Dolphins by 4 points, and the Bills by 3 points. In fact, outside of the disastrous game against the Patriots, the Lions’ only other loss was to the 6-5 Seahawks, and that was also by just 3 points.

The gritty, fight-until-the-end attitude has the national perspective changing surrounding the Lions, and they are beginning to move past the “lovable losers” label; they’re becoming a team that has shown “they can hang with just about any team in the league.”

It’s time to vote. Did the Lions compromise your confidence in them after their seventh loss of the season? Or has the team’s recent success done enough to maintain your confidence in them?

Answer the question in the poll below and keep an eye out later in the week (likely Saturday) for a breakdown of the results.