(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)
Has the Detroit Lions’ Super Bowl window closed?
Advertisement
That’s the question debated in the latest edition of the Inside Coverage podcast.
The short answer: No, the window has not closed.
The more detailed answer: It’s definitely in a more precarious position than it was last season.
Why?
Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab broke it down into three parts:
Key departures and changes: The Lions have lost some important pieces, including retiring All-Pro center Frank Ragnow and guard Kevin Zeitler, both their offensive and defensive coordinators, and a number of position coaches. Two out of five members of their elite offensive line from last season are now gone.
Advertisement
The “erosion” effect: Fitz and Schwab agree that the Lions are still a Super Bowl contender with a strong roster, but point out that it’s these gradual losses — the “little erosions,” as Frank put it — that can deplete a team. It’s not one catastrophic thing, but a bunch of changes that, stacked together, make it harder to reach the top.
“You lose your offensive coordinator, you lose your defensive coordinator, everybody’s a year older. You’re going to have the same injury luck you had. They have a tougher schedule. They have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year. Two fifths of your offensive line has gone from last year,” Schwab explained. “It’s just a little erosions that you know, take you from, hey, we’re 15-2, No. 1 seed in the NFC to maybe okay, we’re 11-6 and the three seed in the NFC. … And all of a sudden you look up and you say that’s how our super bowl window ended.”
Tougher landscape: The Lions face one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this season, plus a much-improved NFC North division, with legitimate playoff aspirations from the Bears, Packers and Vikings. Fitz and Schwab debated which team they’d take to win the division, with Fitz saying he’d lean toward the field over the Lions at this point.
Advertisement
It’s not that the Lions are out of the running — they still have a talented roster — but the margin for error is much lower. All the changes and harder circumstances make a repeat on last season far from guaranteed.
To hear more NFL discussions, tune into Inside Coverage on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.
Read the full article here
