Monday open thread: Do you feel better, worse or the same about the Lions?

Sunday’s game was a bizarre one. For three-and-a-half quarters the Detroit Lions were outplayed by the Atlanta Falcons in all three phases of the game.

Yet despite being seemingly outclassed by the reigning NFC champs, the Lions were making enough plays to stay in the game. Every single time it looked like the Falcons were ready to pull away, the Lions defense would come up with a huge interception or the offense would get it together for just long enough to put up a field goal and keep pace with the Falcons’ high-flying offense.

Then there was the controversial ending. Some remain convinced that the Lions beat the Falcons, but it will forever remain a loss for the Lions.

With such a tough loss, it’s hard to grasp what fans should really take from the game. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Do you feel better, worse or the same about the Lions after their loss to the Falcons?

My answer: The same.

This Lions team is still very flawed. They still don’t have a run game, leaving the offense incredibly inconsistent. They’re still very shallow in talent on defense, especially in the front seven.

But this team has also made several strides that will keep them competitive against the league’s best. Matthew Stafford remains a wizard in crunch time. The Lions’ secondary has finally taken the leap from good to game-changing. If Detroit can keep up this wild pace of takeaways (eight in three games), they should have a good shot against anyone.

If the Lions can get healthy, there’s a chance they get there, but they’ll also have to improve in all phases.

Your turn.