Earlier this week, we published our latest SB Nation Reacts survey, sponsored by the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook, and asked Detroit Lions fans two questions
:- Which Lions player returning from injury will have the biggest immediate impact? (weekly question)
- Are you confident the Lions are headed in the right direction? (recurring poll)
Our weekly confidence polls have been a roller coaster ride throughout 2026. After entering the season on a high note, things dipped after they needed overtime to beat the Saints in Week 1, then fell below 50% for the first time in the Dan Campbell era after a bad Week 2 loss in Buffalo. After a Week 3 win over the Jets, confidence rebounded
to nearly 80%, only to plummet to 12% the following week after a loss in Carolina.
Now, after their third victory of the season, this time over the Cardinals, fans’ confidence in the team has rebounded again, though not quite to where it was before. Let’s take a look at the results of this week’s polls:
As for our second question, there was a clear winner, as anticipated, but we wanted to give readers a chance to also comment and share their view on the potential impact of two key players returning from injury. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at the results from this survey:
Let’s take a closer look at the comment section of our original article and The Feed post to see fans’ explanations for why they voted the way they did (lightly edited for clarity).
Most approved/interacted with “right direction” comments:
- No Username: “Since a “yes” answer implies full confidence, I’ll stay with “no” until I see some consistency in the defense, and steady performance against better teams.“
- Matt48912: “I answered “no” because I am not confident right now, but I still think they might be. I need more than 3 quarters against a team struggling more than them on defense before I think they are getting back to where they were 2 years ago.”
- icd8u2: “Once we acquire another good CB, then I will be fairly confident we are headed in the right direction. No matter what you think of Arnold, losing your first-round CB pick for nothing in return really hurt our CB room.”
- rbelieve: “I hope they’re headed in the right direction. But I am not “confident”.
- critical perspective: “I keep reminding myself that there isn’t a team out there who is firing on all cylinders in every aspect of their roster. […] The Lions have an elite offense and a much improved defensive front. The LBs and, to a great extent, defensive backs have struggled, and there just may not be a fix at corner for this season. But overall, there is so much talent on this team that you’d hope they can plug some holes and keep it rolling to at least be in the conversation come January.”
Most approved/interacted with “Immediate impact returning player” comments:
- Izzo for POTUS: “Mays might play great, but he won’t be that much better than Scruggs. A healthy Branch is light years better than what we have at safety presently.”
- BtP_Drew: “I don’t know how this can be anything other than Branch. The offensive line is playing well without Mays, but the defense needs playmakers familiar with the scheme.”
- Newton82: “I think the latest midweek mailbag addresses this question really well…Mays will probably do wonders, especially for the run game, but Branch, in theory, will allow the defensive backfield to do things they just can’t right now. He can play center field, he can play in the box as a LB, he can play the nickel. He should be what they want Clark to be, but he doesn’t have the range for anymore. I do think BB will help considerably against TEs as well, not that it will make us awesome against TEs, but better.”
As a reminder, this survey was sponsored by the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook, which currently has the Lions listed at +2200 to win this year’s Super Bowl and as 3.5-point favorites in Week 7 when they take on the Green Bay Packers.
Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions fans and fans across the country. If you want to receive these surveys by email weekly, you can sign up here.
