No NFL fanbase has had a rougher 2 weeks than Detroit Lions fans

Remember back when the Detroit Lions had rushed for 249 yards against the Miami Dolphins for their first decisive road win of the year? A couple days later, the Lions would trade for arguably the best run-stuffer in the entire NFL for just a fifth-round pick. The Lions were riding a two-game winning streak and sat just a game out of first place in an extremely competitive NFC North.

Man, that must’ve been a good two months ago. No? That was just two weeks ago? Did I time travel? What year is this? Who’s president? Wait, don’t answer that last one.

Yes, the sky was blue, the weather was warm, and the Lions were good. All of that is gone now.

After two consecutive blowout losses and the trade of Golden Tate, Lions fans have pretty much lost all confidence in the team. Currently Lions fans are at a 20 percent confidence rate according to our weekly FanPulse survey, good for eighth lowest in the league. However, there’s one NFC North fanbase that’s feeling even worse in Week 10:

[*extremely Nelson from The Simpsons voice*] Ha-ha!

But while the Packers have been on a steady decline since the beginning of the season, Lions fans have been tormented by the ups and downs from this team. That peak of confidence from two weeks ago sat at 86 percent. Their 66 percentage point decline over just two weeks is by far the biggest drop of any fanbase over that timespan. The only teams that come close are the Ravens (-60%)—who have lost three straight—and the Jets (-44%).

And while those two fanbases have certainly had it rough this year, they haven’t had to deal with the week-to-week variance that Lions fans have been tortured with since Week 1.

It’s not just the gameday results that are disorienting for fans. One week the team is making a move that appears to be a “win-now” trade. The next week they’re sending away the centerpiece of its offensive weaponry. One week, we’re reminded that general manager Bob Quinn has made some pretty good draft picks in Kerryon Johnson, Da’Shawn Hand and maybe even Michael Roberts and A’Shawn Robinson. The next week, Teez Tabor and Jarrad Davis remind us of his limitations as a personnel evaluator.

It has never been easy for Lions fans, but this season feels particularly tortuous.