Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Week 5 Power Rankings

Walter Football (12. Detroit Lions (2-2)Team Hub - Previously: 9.  The Lions rebounded nicely from their blowout loss to Buffalo on Thursday night against the Jets, but their defense looked pathetic at Carolina. The good news is that they may get one of their starting safeties back from injury soon.):  https://walterfootball.com/nflpowerrankings.php

The Athletic (Power ranking: 12th - Previous ranking: 6th.  "This season, the Lions were supposed to be good enough to take advantage of an easy schedule. Instead, they’re coming off a loss because they couldn’t slow down Bryce Young, who threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, and the vaunted(?) Panthers offense. The secondary is going to have nightmares about Tetairoa McMillan (14 receptions, 192 yards and two touchdowns)."):  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/onsi/detroit-lions-power-rankings-after-bad-loss-mediocre-defense-exposed


USA Today (15. Detroit Lions (10): They're certainly leaning on their stars, RB Jahmyr Gibbs with the most touches (102) in the league and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (46) with the most targets. Gonna be hard to deviate from that formula given how bad the league's most permissive defense has been … a state of affairs that seems unlikely to change any time soon.):  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2026/10/06/nfl-power-rankings-week-5-bills-49ers-chiefs-vikings/92114142007/

TheBigLead (15. Detroit Lions: The Lions are very similar to the Bengals. They have worlds of talent, yet they find a way to underwhelm. They each have a dynamic WR, and they each have a QB who has gone to a Super Bowl…but there is always something missing. Maybe it’s as simple as the two franchises are just historically cursed. Neither has won a Super Bowl, and the Lions have never even been to one. Maybe it’s time to smudge sage throughout their stadiums.):  https://www.thebiglead.com/nfl-power-rankings-entering-week-5-2026/

ESPN (16. Detroit Lions (2-2) - Week 4 result: Lost to the Panthers 32-26.  Week 4 ranking: 13.  Four words to describe the first four weeks: "Are you not entertained?"  Like the famous line from the 2000 film "Gladiator," you're guaranteed some level of entertainment with this 2026 Lions team. Detroit scored at least 31 points in three of four games while also allowing 30 or more points in each. After their Week 3 win over the Jets, even coach Dan Campbell had to jokingly admit the Lions are worth the price of admission. "Tell you what, you're coming to our games? You're loving this now," Campbell said. "I mean, these are exciting games. ... Nobody's leaving early. And that was the point. We're not going to let anybody leave early this year." -- Eric Woodyard):  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50109845/nfl-power-rankings-week-5-teams-first-month-recap

Fox sports (16. Detroit Lions - Previous ranking: 13.  Super Bowl odds: +2400.  Next game: @ Cardinals (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET).  The Lions never had a great defensive outfit in the Dan Campbell era, but they were at least decent for a while. Now? Despite 15 sacks — second in the NFL — they’re giving up an NFL-worst 31.8 points per game. You know who they are? They are the Dallas Cowboys. They play like they have to win games 38-35. Even mediocre defensive play would make this team a Super Bowl contender.  Stat To Know: The Lions defense is allowing 31.8 points per game through the first four games of the season. If that number holds, that would be the third-worst defense in NFL history trailing only the 2020 Lions and 2008 Lions.):  https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2026-nfl-power-rankings-week-5

NFL.com (16.  Detroit Lions:  We saw on Sunday night that the key to beating the Lions is doing everything possible to bottle up Jahmyr Gibbs. A less effective Gibbs meant Jared Goff was forced to look elsewhere, leading to a couple of fruitless drives in the fourth quarter of a winnable game that ended in a loss. Detroit’s defense couldn’t limit Bryce Young, and its offense encountered a collection of potholes in crunch time.):  https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-week-5-2026-nfl-season

SN (18. Detroit Lions 2-2 (11):  The Lions' defense has been terrible for most of the season, save for Aidan Hutchinson. That's putting too much on Jared Goff when Jahmyr Gibbs gets contained, like he was at Carolina.):  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-power-rankings-week-5/bcdbc8dfa5349061230758d7

SI (18. Detroit Lions (2–2) - Last week’s ranking: No. 14.  Last week’s result: lost to Panthers, 32–26.  This week: at Cardinals.  A tip for Amon-Ra St. Brown: if you would like the quarterback of the Detroit Lions to come back on your podcast, you can’t blow him up for being a distant teammate on the first visit!):  https://www.si.com/nfl/conor-orr-week-5-nfl-power-rankings-jaguars-seahawks-cowboys

FTW (18. Detroit Lions - Last week: 11.  If you're reading this, there's a decent chance you might play defensive back for the Lions this season. That is a joke, but it does describe the miserable state of things on defense in Detroit. After getting diced up by Bryce Young on Sunday night, the Lions are now firmly at or near the bottom of most relevant defensive metrics. It doesn't matter how productive the talented offense can be (which seems to curiously sputter at the worst times) if the sport's worst defense can't even be bothered to somewhat hold its water. — RZ):  https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2026/10/06/nfl-power-rankings-week-5-bears-raiders-49ers/92106545007/

Yahoo (19. Detroit Lions (2-2, LW: 13):  Detroit's defense isn't good enough to make the Lions scary to anyone. Detroit is allowing 423.8 yards per game, and no other NFL team is giving up more than 392.3. Detroit has allowed 127 points, most in the NFL. On Sunday against the Panthers, Tetairoa McMillan torched the secondary for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 14 catches.  It's bad enough that head coach Dan Campbell was asked afterward if defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard could be relieved of his duties.  "I'm not talking about all that," Campbell told the media after Sunday's loss.  "I'm talking about getting better right now, with what we've got, and that's what we're going to do. We're going to find a way to get better with what we've got."  Campbell might not want to talk about it, but the Lions aren't going anywhere with a defense this bad):  https://sports.yahoo.com/videos/lions-window-nfl-success-closed-130331433.html


CBS (20.  Lions:  The defense is horrible. Even their good offense can't overcome how bad they are right now.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/priscos-nfl-week-5-power-rankings-chargers-and-texans-a-disaster-browns-climb-up-nine-spots/

PFN (20. Detroit Lions - Last Week’s Ranking: 12.  Offense Rank: 4.  Defense Rank: 32.  Playoff Odds: 51.50%.  We didn’t really learn too many new things about the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Their loss to the Panthers confirmed what we already knew: their offense is one of the best in the NFL, while their defense might be the worst. In the end, the Lions’ offense had a good outing, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the team’s defensive struggles.  Now sitting at 2-2 for the 2026-27 NFL regular season, the Lions find themselves tied with the Packers for last place in the NFC North. They’re still positioned well to compete for a playoff spot, and their offense can stack up well against just about anybody in the league. That said, it’s starting to feel like there’s a firm ceiling on Detroit with how weak its defense has been this season.):  https://www.profootballnetwork.com/week-5-nfl-power-rankings-2026/

Fansided Jason La Canfora (21. Lions - Last Rank: 18.  I guess their super power is running behind an extra lineman as much as anyone and trying to run the ball down your throat under center as much as possible. I feel like there is limited high upside in that. The defense, even when they get healthy, is probably not going to be nearly as good as they would like. They just give up big plays like crazy..):  https://fansided.com/nfl/nfl-power-rankings-chiefs-stay-atop-browns-make-massive-leap-in-week-4

PFT (21. Lions (No. 14; 2-2): The Super Bowl window sure seems closed.):  https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/pfts-week-5-2026-nfl-power-rankings

Average Power Ranking (288/17):  17
Posted by LionsFan at 7:26 PM

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