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Confidence in the Detroit Lions took a big hit over the weekend after the team followed up a big road win over the Miami Dolphins with a poor effort against the Seattle Seahawks. A 28-14 beatdown on your home turf is never the kind of performance you want to put on display, especially on a day in which you could’ve overtaken the division lead.
That being said, the Lions are still 3-4 with more than half of the season to play. Being just a game out of the division lead, Detroit is actually in a position where they could contend for the NFC North, especially with five division game still left on the schedule.
But Tuesday blew up everything. When the Detroit Lions traded Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles, everything changed. Detroit’s leading receiver was suddenly gone in an instant, and many declared the season over on the spot. But will the Lions’ young playmakers step up in his absence? Will defensive improvements help offset the loss of Tate on offense?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
After the Tate trade, is the Detroit Lions season essentially over?
My answer: I’m not one to claim that a season is over with two months left on the schedule—especially for a team that’s at 3-4 and undefeated in division play.
However, this seemed like a team that had an extremely tough road ahead and would have to defy serious odds to make the postseason. With the defense still struggling mightily and the offense inconsistent, I didn’t have a lot of confidence that they were better than any team in their division, despite the fact that the Packers, Vikings and Bears are all pretty flawed.
Now the Lions have made their path to a division title undeniably harder this season. I won’t go as far as to say the Lions season is over, because weird things happen in the NFL. But my personal expectations have certainly lowered and I’d be pretty darn surprised if Detroit is still in the mix come the final few weeks of the season.
Your turn.