Only once in franchise history have the Detroit Lions strung together five consecutive seasons finishing above-.500. It was a stretch of nine straight from 1931 through 1939, beginning back when they were the Portsmouth Spartans.
Approaching a century later, the path for this era of the Lions to reach five straight winning seasons is becoming crystal clear.
On NFL Trade Deadline Eve, the Atlanta Falcons sent All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
Much can be said about watching yet another contender make a splashy move, and how Bates could've been a fun addition to the Lions had it not been for the pending return of Kerby Joseph. Time will tell if the Lions join in on the trade frenzy and declare themselves contenders with a big time move. They just added to their safety depth by acquiring Andre Cisco from the New York Jets, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Instead of focusing on the trade deadline buyers, let's take a moment to look at the trade deadline sellers and how that can impact future Lions matchups.
Two future Lions opponents are already sellers
It's getting to the point where "bloodbath" is too soft of a word to describe the NFC North, as all four teams are now three games above .500 through Week 9. Wins are going to be tough to come by in that division, which is why those gritty wins against the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings were so huge for the Lions.
But the non-divisional games still matter. The NFC North has lost just three games against non-divisional opponents all season entering Monday Night Football. One of those three losses was the Falcons manhandling the Packers in Week 3. The Lions still have the Falcons on their schedule in Week 13, and will meet them post-Bates trade. The Falcons could make more trades before then as they look toward the future.
One week after paying the Falcons in Atlanta, the Lions will be back home to play the Tennessee Titans. Most have already circle the one-loss Titans as an easy win, but the Dolphins were a one-loss team, too. They gave the Lions fits just like that same Titans team did with the Cincinnati Bengals.
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The Titans took the Bengals to their overtime limits right after sending All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears, therefore toughening the Lions' path to an NFC North title. The Titans being sellers has been a net-negative for the Lions, so far, but it's unlikely to be the last move they make before the deadline. The Lions should see a weaker Titans than the Bengals just did.
There's also one other team to keep an eye out for: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs nearly pulled off upsets against all three NFC North teams they've faced thus far, including Sunday night against the Bears. Every team in the NFC South has three wins, currently, and the Bucs are 2-0 within that division with a positive point differential. There's a chance they won't sell, and vie for the home playoff game, but if they do, advantage Lions.
Of course, ambitions for the Lions should be set way higher than just three more wins. But as the playoffs start to take shape, it's worth exploring where upcoming wins may be. We'll get a better idea of that once the trade deadline hits at 4:00 P.M. (EST) on Tuesday,
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