Tuesday open thread: Who has been the Lions’ MVP through 4 games?

The story of the 2016 Detroit Lions was simple: As goes Matthew Stafford, so goes the team. When Stafford was playing well, the Detroit Lions could (and did) beat anyone. When he played poorly—especially down the stretch—the Lions faltered and looked like an average team at best. Never was it more clear that this was Stafford’s team than last year.

However, it has been a completely different story through four weeks of the 2017 season. The Lions have won games without getting into a shootout. They’ve won two games this year getting 17 points or fewer out of their offense.

The defense is creating turnovers, special teams are putting up points (and not just through field goals) and Stafford has actually had something resembling a running game on a few occasions.

This has been the definition of a team effort to get to 3-1 through four games, so today’s Question of the Day is a bit tougher than you’d think:

Who has been the Detroit Lions’ MVP through four games?

My answer: I think it has to be Glover Quin. He’s undeniably the spiritual and emotional leader of the defense, but his contributions go well beyond his leadership. Quin has made some of the biggest plays of the season for Detroit.

His pick-six against the Atlanta Falcons was solely responsible for keeping Detroit in that game. A few quarters later, his fantastic open-field tackle forced a punt, giving the Lions one more chance at a comeback. His forced fumble on Sunday sealed the road victory for the Lions in Minnesota.

In total, Quin is tied for first on the team with 19 solo tackles (second with 23 total tackles). He’s first in team forced fumbles (2), he’s tied with Darius Slay with two interceptions and is even fourth in passes defended (3).

A big reason the Lions are 3-1 is their league-high 11 forced turnovers through four games. Quin is directly responsible for four of those and managed to turn one immediately into six points. There is no one on the team responsible for more game-changing plays through four games, and that makes him an easy choice for team MVP thus far.

Your turn.