USA Today writer predicts Detroit Lions to have NFL’s worst record in 2019

It happens just about every single year at this point in the offseason. Someone out there completely discredits the Detroit Lions and believe they’re going to be the worst team in the league. To be fair, sometimes they’re right. Other times, the Lions surprise some teams. After all, I bet it would surprise a lot of national NFL analysts to learn that Detroit has actually won more games than they’ve lost in the past five years.

However, after a disappointing 6-10 season, USA Today’s Nate Davis thinks the Lions’ decline is far from over. According to his 2019 NFL predictions, he has the Lions finishing the season with the league’s worst record: 3-13.

His reasoning appears to be focused on their difficult schedule.

“Four of their eight home dates come against 2018 playoff outfits — a figure that doesn’t include the Packers or Vikings,” Davis writes. “Two West Coast trips in season’s first half unlikely to help, either.”

Of course, lists like this are going to draw criticism from just about every fanbase that isn’t the Los Angeles Chargers or Minnesota Vikings. But let’s take a look at Davis’ history with the Lions.

Last year, he predicted the Lions to go 6-10. They went 6-10.
In 2017, he predicted the Lions to go 5-11. They went 9-7.
In 2016, he predicted the Lions to go 7-9. They went 9-7.
In 2015, he predicted the Lions to go 7-9. They went 7-9.
In 2014, he predicted the Lions to go 4-12. They went 11-5.

Like many predictions, there’s no correlation here. Though Davis did correctly guess the Lions’ record twice in the past four years, he also missed big time in 2014 and 2017.

At this point, you should take all predictions—even ours—with a grain of salt. Still, it’s interesting to see how others view the Lions from outside our little bubble.