2017 NFL preview: Will the Lions make the playoffs this season?

As our 2017 Detroit Lions season preview draws closer to its end, we start to encounter the tougher, juicier questions.

So many have pegged this team for regression this year, and their rationale is reasonable. Even Lions fans will admit that the team overperformed in 2016 and their schedule is daunting this year. If you’re one to cling to history, the Lions haven’t made the postseason in consecutive years since 1995.

But almost everyone will equally agree that the roster looks better this year. The offense is more well-rounded, while the defense will be sporting an almost entirely new front seven.

It’s hard to take both those pieces of information and come to any sort of confident conclusion. This is an incredibly hard team to read right now, but everyone loves predictions, so here we go.

Will the Detroit Lions make the postseason in 2017?

Before we get to our answers, be sure to check out our previous predictions:

Kent Lee Platte: No.

They will not.

Chris Perfett: No.

This division is lost to anarchy and chaos. The Packers got worse, the Vikings stayed in limbo, the Lions got semi-kinda worse and certainly didn't get noticeably better, the Bears are [FILE NOT FOUND]. Everyone's in a pit and history says the Lions don't win when it's a four-way thumb war.

Ryan Mathews: No.

Does 9-7 get them back into the playoffs for a second year in a row? It won't win them the division, and the NFC South and NFC East have the inside track at claiming the Wild Card tickets.

Jeremy Reisman: No.

This is the season of too many ifs. If the Lions running game can actually turn itself around... If the Lions defense can become an average defense... If Ezekiel Ansah, Ameer Abdullah and Eric Ebron can stay healthy... If Greg Robinson can improve in a simpler offense...

There are just too many questions around this team, and they need to have them all answered, and answered quickly with this brutally front-loaded schedule.

Alex Reno: Yes.

I change my mind on this just about every single day. If the Lions come out and start off their first eight games with a 3-5 or 4-4 record, I think they have a pretty good shot at finishing 9-7 or better. I don't have a very logical answer for this question. This is just me drinking the kool-aid and hoping like the rest of y'all.

Mike Payton: Yes.

The rest of the NFC North is a question mark. What are the Vikings? Can the Packers get over all their losses? Are the Bears a football team? This leads to the Lions winning the division and heading back to the playoffs.

Justin Simon: Yes.

The Lions have a tougher slate of games this season after making the playoffs last season, and there aren't any guaranteed wins on the schedule. I think it will be tight division race, but the Lions have the pieces to come out on top. The Lions have been in the running for the division title two of the last three years and this is the year they finally make it over the hump, take the division, and host a playoff game at the newly renovated Ford Field.

Kyle Yost: No.

I do not think the Lions will make the playoffs. Other teams have improved as much or more than Detroit this season, and another injury or two could completely drown this team. Objectively speaking, the Lions were lucky last year and expecting that same luck this season is unrealistic. Anything can happen in the NFL, but another playoff appearance would be a shock for me.

Andrew Kato: Yes.

Probably as a Wild Card, but Detroit should be able to compete for the division crown. What I will be watching for is if the team wins two of their three division road games before Thanksgiving.