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With any hope of the playoffs officially and mathematically dead, the Detroit Lions will shortly look ahead to the offseason and the NFL Draft. As embarrassing and disheartening as Sunday's loss to the St. Louis Rams was, it actually did wonders for the Lions' draft position. Seven teams entered the day with an identical 4-8 record as the Lions, and only three of the other 4-8 teams lost on Sunday. Therefore the Lions jumped from nine to six in the order.
1. Tennessee Titans: 3-10 (.498 strength of schedule)
2. San Diego Chargers: 3-10 (.527 SOS)
3. Cleveland Browns: 3-10 (.529 SOS)
4. Dallas Cowboys: 4-9 (.517 SOS - 3-8 in conference)
5. Baltimore Ravens: 4-9 (.517 SOS - 3-6 in conference)
6. Detroit Lions: 4-9 (.529 SOS)
7. San Francisco 49ers: 4-9 (.531 SOS)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-8 (.469 SOS)
9. New Orleans Saints: 5-8 (.512 SOS)
10. Chicago Bears: 5-8 (.524 SOS - 2-7 in conference)
11. St. Louis Rams: 5-8 (.524 SOS - 4-5 in conference)
12. Miami Dolphins: 5-7 (.473 SOS)
13. New York Giants: 5-7 (.502 SOS)
Things are obviously still very tight, as only two games separate the first overall pick from the 11th pick. With three games to go, the Lions could potentially jump into the top three or could fall near the middle of the first round.