The Detroit Lions’ reign as the NFL’s best has come to a quick halt following a less-than-ideal showing in Week 6.
On Sunday, the Lions fell 30-17 to the reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. With the loss, Detroit is now 4-2 and sits second in the NFC North. After their Week 5 dismantling of the Cincinnati Bengals, writers across the league recognized the Lions as the NFL’s top team.
However, the Week 6 loss not only knocks them out of the No. 1 spot in this week’s power rankings roundup — one journalist dropped the Lions out of the top 10 altogether.
Here’s a look at where the Lions stand following the lopsided loss to the Chiefs:
ESPN
Rank: 2
Last week: 1
Aidan Hutchinson has returned to elite form after severe leg injury. A broken leg ended Hutchinson’s 2024 season early, but he picked up where he left off as one of the league’s elite pass rushers. He set a single-season team record by producing at least 1.0 sack in five consecutive games, in addition to another franchise mark of four straight games with a forced fumble. His 24 pressures are also the most in the NFL, as he’s moving fluidly after a tough rehabilitation process. -- Eric Woodyard
The Athletic
Rank: 6
Last week: 1
“No one in the NFL has caught more regular-season passes than St. Brown (474) since 2021, when he joined the league as a fourth-round pick. (Only Travis Kelce has more when you count playoff games.) St. Brown caught nine more passes Sunday and is the ninth-highest fantasy scorer (21.02) in the league. That’s just about perfect for his managers, who drafted him 10th on average.” -- Josh Kendall and Chad Graff
CBS Sports
Rank: 5
Last week: 1
“The secondary being crippled by injuries showed up in the loss to the Chiefs. Now they face a tough Tampa Bay offense led by Baker Mayfield.” -- Pete Prisco
Pro Football Talk
Rank: 3
Last week: 1
“Brian Branch needs to learn that the kneecap biting ends when the game does.” -- Mike Florio
USA Today
Rank: 11
Last week: 1
“This is an appropriate place to take a pause − and ask if it’s appropriate to drop a team from first overall to 11th merely because a dominant four-game winning streak was snapped? Maybe not? But 1) the Lions, after feasting on lesser competition, were unequivocally handled in their losses by the best teams they’ve faced so far (Packers, Chiefs) and 2) the apparent upper echelon of the league is so tightly packed, with 14 teams sporting a winning percentage of .667 or better (plus three more that are 3-2), that it’s tough to distinguish those currently clustered together – as next Monday’s matchup with the Bucs will likely attest. DB Brian Branch’s self-inflicted suspension hardly helps, either.” -- Nate Davis
Sports Illustrated
Rank: 5
Last week: 1
“Here’s Jared Goff going in depth about the incredibly disappointing (and possibly suspicious) touchdown the Lions got called back. One feature of SkyJudge in the future can be forcing the officials who might throw a flag on a cool play like this into temporary paralysis. AI can do anything, man.” -- Connor Orr
Bleacher Report
Rank: 7
Last week: 1
"The Detroit Lions don’t need to regroup after a double-digit loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Jared Goff’s illegal motion penalty cost them four points, and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s drop resulted in a turnover on downs and gave the Chiefs a short field on a touchdown drive.
The Lions will bounce back, but their offense needs a signature performance against a quality opponent or defense. Detroit looked like world beaters after blowing out the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, who are without quarterback Joe Burrow, but it lost by two possessions to the Green Bay Packers and Chiefs in the team’s worst offensive outings." -- Maurice Moton
The Score
Rank: 2
Last week: same
"Will the injury luck turn around on defense?The Lions have silenced any concerns about the departures of their two coordinators, but the injuries are piling up on defense again. A beat-up secondary had a tough time with the Chiefs’ offense Sunday night." -- Dan Wilkins
Fox Sports
Rank: 2
Last week: 1
“There aren’t many more complete teams in the league than the Lions, but if they have any weakness at all it’s in their depleted secondary. That’s what cost them the top spot in these rankings — and their Sunday night game against the Chiefs.” -- Ralph Vacchiano
Sporting News
Rank: 7
Last week: 2
“The Lions took their second outdoor setback of the season in Kansas City, the first since getting beat up in Green Bay. They will be happy to be home and go back into shootout mode with the Buccaneers in prime time.” -- Vinnie Iyer
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