Each week for this article we post what the next opponent is saying about the upcoming matchup with the Detroit Lions. Since there's no opponent this week with the Lions on the bye, we thought we'd take a listen to what's being said about the Lions nationally as they head into their bye week.
1. Last week's loss to the Saints, Detroit's second straight loss and third in their last four games, dropped them in the various power ratings across the league. They fell two spots to 15 in ESPN's rankings. NFL.com dropped them 10 spots to 16, and they slipped 11 spots to 20 in the Washington Post rankings.
2. ESPN Fantasy Football writer Mike Clay had an interesting tweet earlier this week. He tweeted out the remaining strength of schedule for all 32 teams following Week 6. The Lions have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL based off the win-loss records of their opponents.
3. The NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano had a rather cringe-y Matthew Stafford statistic this week. Stafford is on pace to get sacked 61 times. No NFL quarterback has been sacked 60-plus times in over a decade. Not since Jon Kitna (63) with Detroit back in 2006.
4. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was a fan of Golden Tate's touchdown celebration last week.
5. Pressure continues to be an issue for the Lions. This PFF stat shows how the struggle is real: Stafford was under pressure on 39 percent of his 59 drop backs last week. He completed just 8-of-17 passes for 106 yards when under pressure, and was sacked six times.
6. Peter King in this week's MMQB column: "The Lions are in the NFC North race because of the Aaron Rodgers injury, not because of good football."
7. Defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson made Pro Football Focus' list of the top defensive performers for Week 6.
"While he didn't put up eye-popping stats against the run or as a pass-rusher, Detroit Lions defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson impressed with a huge play that almost helped bring the Lions back with an interception retuned for a touchdown," PFF wrote. "Against the run he finished the game with a run stop percentage of 6.9 percent, with two tackles resulting in a defensive stop."
