Week 7 Power Rankings

USA Today (17. Lions (23): After losing a league-record six consecutive games when they had a double-digit lead, they hung on to beat Jacksonville by 18. Keep a close eye on Detroit, which plays one team with a winning record (Colts) over next six weeks.):  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2020/10/20/nfl-power-rankings-week-6-seahawks-packers-steelers-titans/5987579002/

Yahoo (20. Detroit Lions (2-3, LW: 26):  Adrian Peterson on Sunday: 15 carries for 40 yards. D’Andre Swift on Sunday: 14 carries for 116 yards. The Lions signed Peterson just before the season, practically changed their offense to force the ball to a 35-year-old back who doesn’t contribute anything in the passing game and did so at the expense of a second-round rookie pick. That’s bad. What’s worse is we all know Matt Patricia and his crew will give Peterson more carries than Swift next week, too.):  https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-power-rankings-can-bill-belichick-and-cam-newton-fix-the-patriots-033218590.html

Fox News (21. Lions:  Rookie running back D'Andre Swift finally had his breakout game. He had 116 rushing yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.):  https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nfl-weekly-power-rankings-2020-season

AP Pro32 (21. Lions):  https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32

NFL.com (22. Lions:  The Lions finally put together a complete effort on Sunday and were rewarded with a rarity for Detroit: the blowout victory. On defense, it was the revival of the pass rush, which consistently got after Gardner Minshew and forced the mustachioed Jaguars passer into hurried throws and mistakes. On offense, we saw a breakout performance from D'Andre Swift, the rookie running back who went off for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Swift became the first Lions rookie with 100 rushing yards and two scores in a game since Barry Sanders in 1989. The performance should lead to a more prominent role for Swift, who has been splitting work with Adrian Peterson, a future Hall of Famer who has -- to borrow a Parcells-ism -- reached the "progress-stopper" stage of his career.):  https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-week-7-steelers-titans-crack-top-three

SN (22. Detroit Lions 2-3 (25):  The Lions needed a win badly coming out of the bye for Matt Patricia and their defense, passing game and dynamic rookie D'Andre Swift all were key in taking care of a lesser Jaguars team. Don't sleep on them getting back in the NFC wild-card race with a favorable schedule ahead.):  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-power-rankings-steelers-49ers-patriots-eagles/1tgtmapvbdanc10rf69k3ha811

PFF (22. Lions):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-ahead-of-week-7

Athlonsports.com (22. Detroit Lions

Last week: 26.  That may not have been the best performance of the Matt Patricia era but it sure was close in thumping the Jags. The pass rush was encouraging but you want to pause any optimism before seeing if it will carry over into the coming weeks.):  https://athlonsports.com/nfl-power-rankings

Freep (22. Lions (2-3)):  https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/10/20/nfl-power-rankings-week-7-detroit-lions-tennessee-titans-pittsburgh-steelers/5988616002/

FTW (22. Detroit Lions (2-3) — D'Andre Swift (6.1 yards per carry) is good. So why has Adrian Peterson (4.1 yards per carry) been carrying the ball so much? Hint: Matt Patricia is a bad coach.):  https://ftw.usatoday.com/gallery/nfl-week-7-power-rankings-steelers-titans-patriots-packers

ESPN (23. Detroit Lions (2-3) - Most impactful injury: CB Desmond Trufant.  This is largely because it has exposed some of the issues Detroit has in its secondary. The Lions might have played Jeff Okudah early anyway in place of Amani Oruwariye, but Trufant's hamstring injuries have forced a starting group of Oruwariye and Okudah. Oruwariye has thrived, showing real growth in his second year. Okudah, the rookie, has struggled, but he can't be replaced until Trufant returns. Being able to watch for a little while after getting used to the NFL speed did wonders for Darius Slay as a rookie. It could do the same for Okudah. -- Michael Rothstein):  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30148598/nfl-power-rankings-week-7-1-32-poll-plus-team-most-impactful-injury

CBS (23. Lions:  They have won two consecutive games and dominated a bad Jaguars team. DeAndre Swift looks like the real deal at running back.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-7-power-rankings-steelers-are-new-no-1-bears-climb-into-top-six-packers-slide/

SI (24. Detroit Lions (2–3):  It was nice to see D’Andre Swift have his first big game as a pro during a get-right win against the Jaguars. The Lions are good enough to escape the league’s bottom tier but I have a hard time believing they’re going to win enough games to keep the Matt Patricia era going into 2021.):  https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/10/20/week-7-nfl-power-rankings-steelers-chiefs-seahawks

PFT (24. Lions (No. 27; 2-3): Built lead? Good. Held lead? Better.):  https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/10/20/pfts-week-seven-2020-power-rankings/

PFN (24.  Detroit Lions (2-3):  The Lions are 24th in my NFL Power Rankings list. Coming off their bye, Detroit went south to dispose of the Jaguars in a game that was never close. It was against a dismal Jacksonville defense, but Lions fans should be optimistic that this offense is coming around and beginning to fulfill their potential.  And it was great to see what very well could be a breakout game and a sign of good things to come from D’Andre Swift. It should be his backfield going forward. The Lions defense also deserves credit, showing more playmaking ability than before their bye.):  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-power-rankings-week-7-2020/

Touchdown Wire (26. Detroit Lions (2-3. Last week: 29):  As this season has unfolded, Detroit Lions’ head coach Matt Patricia has consistently been included among the coaches on the proverbial hot seat. The Lions began the year by blowing a lead to the Chicago Bears, and followed that up by blowing another double-digit lead, this time early in the proceedings to the Green Bay Packers.  But they have won two of their last three games, with victories over Arizona and now the Jacksonville Jaguars. Two huge developments on this Sunday came in the win. First, the pass rush. Detroit was able to pressure Gardner Minshew and force some miscues, including a sack/fumble early in the game as well as an interception.  Linebacker Jahlani Tavai blitzes through the A-Gap and gets pressure on Minshew with his left hand, forcing the quarterback to backfoot this throw and leave air under it. That allows Duron Harmon to come over for the pick.  The other big development was the emergence of rookie running back D’Andre Swift. In the era of “running backs don’t matter” using a second-round pick on Swift was met with skepticism, but he contributed in a big way Sunday, racking up 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 14 carries. 54 of those came on just one run, and it was a big one.  So, signs of improvement from Detroit. String a few more of these together, and they’ll be climbing higher up boards like this one.):  https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/lists/nfl-power-rankings-week-6-steelers-seahawks-buccaneers-chiefs/

Walterfootball (27.  Detroit Lions (2-3) - Previously: 29.

Congratulations to the Lions, who have finally remembered that they drafted D'Andre Swift back in April! It took them a while, but they finally remembered. They've been tucked away in a time in which they had nothing but crappy running backs, but they finally know what they have on their roster: a perfectly splendid rookie running back.):  https://walterfootball.com/nflpowerrankings.php

Average Power Ranking (382/17):  22