In the big picture, the Detroit Lions are 9-4, they lead the NFC North by two games and the sky is not falling. But over the last 4-5 weeks, some serious cracks have shown and you can make a solid case they haven't played all that well for several weeks. They are 4-3 since a 5-1 start, and the margin between a win and a loss was very narrow in a couple of the victories.
Everything is there for the Lions to take over the final four games of the regular season, including a division title, and they can clinch a playoff spot by the time Week 15's action is over. But it will not be easy, with the Denver Broncos (Week 15), the Minnesota Vikings (Week 16 and Week 18) and the Dallas Cowboys (Week 17) left on the schedule.
The Broncos have won six of their last seven games since a 1-5 start to push themselves into playoff contention. Lions head coach Dan Campbell has pointed to Broncos' head coach coach Sean Payton, his mentor, being more than willing to come into Ford Field and embarrass the home team on Saturday night if they are not on the top of their game.
Simply put, the Lions could use a clean, relatively mistake-free win to get themselves back on track and show themselves again to be a really good team. If that's going to happen, these four players must step up their games.