In the NFL, narratives can shift rapidly. The Detroit Lions began Week 7 as a clear top-five NFL club.

However, following a 38-6 thrashing by the Baltimore Ravens, pundits are asking who the true Lions are.

One NFL executive seems to insinuate that they are closer to the squad that experienced the humiliating blowout loss in Week 7.

“Detroit was 5-1, but they hadn’t played anybody,” an unidentified NFL general manager told Mike Sando of The Athletic. “Look at the games they’ve won.” In Week 1, they faced the Super Bowl champions and defeated them without [Travis] Kelce or Chris Jones. Mahomes felt uneasy with any of those receivers. Apart from that, who have they beaten?”

The Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the answers to that question. After Week 7, those four clubs have a collective record of 9-16.

The Lions are facing questions following their humiliating loss to the Ravens.
When an NFL club loses by more than 30 points, there is usually cause for concern.

In his news conference on October 23, Lions head coach Dan Campbell accepted full responsibility for the loss. He did, however, emphasise that they are not unusual.

“When you’ve played long enough and coached long enough in this league, unfortunately, they happen,” Campbell remarked on October 23 concerning blowout losses in the NFL. “From time to time, they happen.”

The Lions, on the other hand, are likely to be more concerned because they haven’t had much success as a team in the last 30 years. A game like the one Detroit played in Week 7 will have many supporters saying, “Same old, Lions.”

Unfortunately for Detroit, some of what the NFL general manager told Sando is true. The Lions’ schedule has been rather easy.

While Detroit’s road victory at Lambeau Field was stunning at the time, the Packers have since lost two straight to AFC West opponents with records below.500.

Furthermore, the Lions defence played admirably, allowing no touchdowns to the Falcons or Buccaneers. However, Atlanta and Tampa Bay are both in the bottom six in terms of scoring this season.

These facts, along with the Lions’ humiliating loss to the Ravens, will almost certainly dampen the Lions’ hype train.

The upcoming schedule for Detroit does not get much tougher.
One approach for the Lions to shift the narrative proposed by the unnamed NFL general manager would be to defeat a superior team. However, that option may not be available to Detroit for some time.

The Lions will play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8 before travelling to Los Angeles to face the Chargers in Week 10. The Lions will have a bye in Week 9.

These AFC West clubs have a collective record of 5-8.

After that, Detroit’s schedule doesn’t get much easier. As of October 24, the Lions will not face another winning team until they visit the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 on December 30.

Until then, the Lions don’t even have a.500 opponent on the schedule.

This bodes well for the Lions’ hopes of retaining control of the NFC North. It is also possible that the Lions may compete for the top seed in the NFC playoff picture.

However, it will not alter the Lions’ “haven’t played anyone” storyline.