The crowd at the Detroit Lions' road game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 was loud...and blue. Very, very deeply Honolulu Blue. You could hear them, and see them, watching the game from home: a huge and loyal legion of Lions fans happy to travel to another time zone to watch their team with such great talent and potential.
“Our fans were outstanding. They traveled well — they traveled well to Carolina, we just didn’t give them anything to cheer about. They took over that stadium. You could hear them and by the end of it, that was good stuff. We hear them. We hear you. And we love it. We love it," said Campbell of the support.
Not giving fans "anything to cheer about" is such a key piece of this quote from Week 5. Not providing that - a fighting chance to win in the NFC North, and in the NFC as a whole, with a quiet trade deadline - would be giving the fans nothing to cheer for. The Lions and Brad Holmes must be aggressive at the deadline this year, as this might be the most wide open the conference is for a while.
Lions' chances for a deep postseason run have never been better
Let's look around the NFC as a whole before diving into the Lions' chances within their own division to walk away with a title.
NFC East
1. NY Giants (3-2-1)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4)
3. Dallas Cowboys (2-4)
4. Washington Commanders (1-3-1)
NFC South
1. Carolina Panthers (3-2)
2. Atlanta Falcons (2-4)
3. New Orleans Saints (2-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5)
NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers (5-0)
2. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
3. Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
4. LA Rams (2-4)
For those keeping count at home, that's three teams with winning records across three divisions through six weeks of action. Three winning records out of 12 teams. Looking at some of the competition under these current 1 seeds, you're not left with the impression that they'll be improving anytime soon.
The Eagles just lost Jalen Hurts for the year. The Cowboys have an even worse defense than the Lions this season. The Cardinals are okay with treading in the loss column this year with their own draft aspirations. The Rams are failing to meet expectations across the board. The NFC South is simply middling.
So, the Lions - who have a shot to topple the Falcons, Giants, and Buccaneers later this season - are in a great spot when compared to the weaknesses of the rest of the conference. This further bolsters an argument to get aggressive at the deadline for help at safety and cornerback. When your literal one weakness could be helped even a bit with more competence added to the room via trade, you make it happen.
The entire NFC North would make postseason today
Through six games, the playoff picture in the NFC is basically the NFC North invitational. The Minnesota Vikings, sitting at 5-0, are atop the conference, while the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Lions all make the cut. Detroit would earn the 7th and last spot in the postseason if the season ended today.
A 2-0 run through their first divisional games of the year would put them at 5-2, tied for first with the Vikings, and with some great control over their destiny with a relatively light schedule ahead. Even a 1-1 finish in these first divisional games would place them back in the fold for 2nd place, showing how open this division remains.
Again, this should push the Lions towards an aggressive deadline, and not be cause to shrink with the deadline looming. When your only one or two competent corners away from being the best all-around team in the division, why not go all in?
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