The Detroit Lions are still a good team and may very well beat the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving, but last year, they were a true juggernaut, and now they’re not. They’re 7-4, and their Pythagorean record is also 7-4, and so this is exactly how good they really are.

So, what happened? The various injuries and suspensions to their various dirty safeties are certainly a factor on defense. The loss of Ben Johnson to the Bears has been a negative as well, though the Lions’ offense still leads the NFC in points. But I think the big factor is the severe decline of the offensive line, which has become a true, exploitable weak spot for defensive coordinators to attack. The Lions’ line has been elite for the duration of Jared Goff’s tenure as quarterback, which is good because few quarterbacks

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