The Detroit Lions are among seven Super Bowl sleepers according to CBS Sports.
Dan Campbell's team has the offensive firepower to compete for a championship, but their defensive struggles may ultimately be too significant an obstacle to overcome. The Lions enter their Week 6 bye at 3-2 after defeating Arizona 45-21 last week.
Detroit trails Jacksonville, Cincinnati, New England, Minnesota, Chicago, and Denver in the penultimate tier of championship challengers.
The Lions are listed at +2600 by DraftKings, tied to the odds available when the article was published. NFL writer Jordan Dajani comprised the tiers and remains skeptical about the Lions' potential, citing that the defense ranks last in the NFL in total yards allowed:
The Detroit Lions actually
have the second-shortest odds to win the NFC North right now, so do with that what you will. Dan Campbell just registered his first road win of the season on Sunday, as Detroit dominated the Arizona Cardinals, 45-21. However, beating up on a bad team doesn't exactly quell all concerns.
The Lions may lead the NFL in sacks (20), but they still rank dead last in total defense, allowing 404.4 total yards per game. Even with the 21 points allowed on Sunday, Detroit still ranks bottom four in scoring defense with 29.6 points allowed per game. This Lions team is unfortunately reminiscent of recent Lions teams. Jared Goff commands a lethal offense headlined by Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, but it's hard to believe Kelvin Sheppard's defense has the ability to support a legitimate contender. With that said, Sunday's performance against Arizona was good. - Jordan Dajani, CBS Sports
Offensively, Detroit has provided plenty of reasons for optimism. Jared Goff has thrown 12 touchdowns without an interception, and Jahmyr Gibbs is averaging nearly five years per carry with seven rushing touchdowns. The Lions boast the third-best passing attack in all of football -- in fact, Drew Petzing's unit is ranked No. 6 in total offense. The production of Goff, Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown has helped the Lions lead the NFL in scoring offense alongside the Bills at 32.8 points per contest.
The defensive outlook isn't great, but a few stats point to reasons for optimism in the Motor City. The Lions have the No. 5 turnover differential in the league with nine takeaways to only one turnover. The formula for the Lions may be utilizing the pass rush to force opposing quarterbacks into either taking sacks or giving the ball up.
Giving Goff and the offense extra possessions results in points more times than not. The unit is converting 77.3% of their red zone chances into touchdowns.
If the Lions can get their duo of star safeties back before season's end, another postseason run could look promising.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: CBS tabs Detroit Lions among Super Bowl sleeper contenders
