A look at how fans of Detroit Lions opponents see the Lions’ 2016 season playing out with game-by-game predictions for each game of the regular season.
Going back to the release of the NFL schedule in the spring, people love going through their team’s slate and marking individual games as wins or losses to predict how the team will fare that season.
It’s the schedule game. You play it, I play it, and I had people who cover the teams on the Lions’ schedule play it. I ran a series of posts last month checking in on each team on the Detroit Lions‘ schedule with a Q&A between myself and other FanSided writers who cover teams the Lions will play in 2016.
To end each Q&A, I ask respondents to label their team’s game against the Lions as a win, loss or toss up. For games marked as a toss up, I assigned half a win and half a loss to the Lions’ record and marked down wins and losses as such.
I went through the same process before last season and the response was decidedly against the 6-10 record the opposing view came out with. At the time, fans and media members alike were largely thinking the Lions would follow up their 11-5 2014 regular season with something like a 9-7 or 10-6 season.
The opposing view turned out to be much more prescient after it took a hot second half to get the Lions to 7-9. You might want to keep that in mind before your Lions blood starts to boil reading what follows.
Additionally, formatting a season prediction this way is sure to produce pessimistic results. But as last year’s edition showed us, it might no be so bad for setting a lower limit on what might happen during the season.
Next: Week 1 at Colts
Week 1 – at Indianapolis Colts
Read the full Colts Q&A here.
Even Reller of Horseshoe Heroes’ prediction: Colts win
"This feels like a win for the Colts. At home and the Lions don’t have their matchup trump card on offense anymore. Plus the last time these two teams met in 2012 the Colts pulled off a dramatic rally and that was a much worse team than the 2016 iteration."
Lions’ record: 0-1
Next: Week 2 vs. Titans
Week 2 – vs. Tennessee Titans
Read the full Titans Q&A here.
Will Lomas of Titan Sized‘s prediction: Toss up
"I am going to mark it as a toss up. After losing Calvin Johnson, the offense become much easier to focus on. I think Jason McCourty will cover up the #2 receiver (Marvin Jones) and Dick LeBeau will bracketGolden Tate and bring pressure against a young front. On offense, I expect Ziggy Ansah to get a lot of attention from Craig Stevens and Taylor Lewan. Lewan has the athleticism to stick with most edge rushers, but Ansah is special and will get special attention. I could see a young offensive line struggle and screw up Marcus Mariota, but I could also see the team getting into rhythm on the ground and hitting some nice chunk plays. At the end of the day, if Marcus Mariota has time in the pocket I think he can beat this defense and win the game. However, that was never a given last year so I can’t be confident it will happen this year until I see it."
Lions’ record: 0.5-1.5
Next: Weeks 3 and 17 vs. Packers
Week 3 – at Green Bay Packers
Week 17 – vs. Green Bay Packers
Read the full Packers Q&A here.
Ray Rivard of Lombardi Ave‘s prediction: Packers sweep
"Both the Packers and Lions have payback issues against one another. The Packers want to sweep the Lions this year because Detroit somehow won in Wisconsin last year. That hurt. However, the Lions are also still stinging from the Hail Mary win Aaron Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and the Packers put on them late last season. That play will never be forgotten – by everyone. I feel the Lions, withoutCalvin Johnson to lean on, is a much weaker opponent, but they are a divisional opponent and always a tough one. Should be an interesting matchup this coming season. In the end, I see the Packers sweeping the Lions."
Lions’ record: 0.5-3.5
Next: Week 4 and 14 vs. Bears
Week 4 – at Chicago Bears
Week 14 – vs. Chicago Bears
Read the full Bears Q&A here.
Bill Zimmerman of Bear Goggles On‘s prediction: Bears sweep
"I think the Lions have plenty of issues facing their team, especially with the loss ofCalvin Johnson. I would be very surprised if the Bears lost their home game to the Lions and would chalk that up as a win. The road game in Detroit is a toss-up. Barring injuries, the Bears should continually improve throughout the season as their new players and rookies develop and gel. If the Bears played the Lions in Detroit early, I might say Detroit wins, but being that the game is week 14, I think that Chicago will go into Detroit and sweep the season series from the Lions."
Lions’ record: 0.5-5.5
Next: Week 5 vs. Eagles
Week 5 – vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Read the full Eagles Q&A here.
Chuck Booth of Section 215‘s prediction: Toss up
"Currently, I’d mark the game as a toss up. While the Eagles aren’t a very strong team they will put up a fight in all of their games. Their defense also matches up well with the Lions offense with Calvin Johnson out of the picture. It could end up as a shoot out but the birds have a fighting chance."
Lions’ record: 1-6
Next: Week 6 vs. Rams
Week 6 – vs. Los Angeles Rams
Read the full Rams Q&A here.
Dan Parzych of Ramblin’ Fan‘s prediction: Toss up
"My heart tells me win, but I’m going to go with toss up at this point in the offseason. Just like the Rams, I feel like the Lions have a lot to prove on offense now that Calvin Johnson is retired–even though Detroit’s offense seems to be in much better shape than Los Angeles heading into the season."
Lions’ record: 1.5-6.5
Next: Week 7 vs. Redskins
Week 7 – vs. Washington Redskins
Read the full Redskins Q&A here.
Maurice Barksdale of Riggo’s Rag‘s prediction: Toss up
"Both teams finished the 2015 season strong. The Lions will be better than most people think in 2016. The Lions will be tough to beat on the road but I think the Redskins are the more talented team. I also think they have the better quarterback. Matthew Stafford is a good one but Kirk Cousins is ascending to the top ten of NFL quarterbacks. This will be one of the keys to the game."
Lions’ record: 2-7
Next: Week 8 at Texans
Week 8 – at Houston Texans
Read the full Texans Q&A here.
Randy Gurzi of Toro Times’ prediction: Texans win
"That’s one I think they can win. I have no hard feelings against the Lions and I remember going to games in Athens, Georgia and being in awe of what Matthew Stafford can do with the football. I just have very little faith in their head coach Jim Caldwell. He has a record of regressing each season he returns to a team and until Caldwell proves me wrong, I can’t shake the feeling that things will get ugly for any team that has him as the top guy."
Lions’ record: 2-8
Next: Weeks 9 and 12 vs. Vikings
Week 9 – at Minnesota Vikings
Week 12 – vs. Minnesota Vikings
Read the full Vikings Q&A here.
Adam Carlson of The Viking Age‘s prediction: Vikings sweep
"On paper, it’s hard to get excited about the Lions. They lost their leading tackler and #1 receiver, but Detroit is also one of the streakiest franchises in the league. When they get hot, there is no stopping them. Unless the Lions are hitting on all cylinders when they face Minnesota, I can’t predict a Detroit win against the Vikings."
Lions’ record: 2-10
Next: Week 11 vs. Jaguars
Week 11 – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Read the full Jaguars Q&A here.
Luke Sims of Black & Teal‘s prediction: Jaguars win
"Honestly, marking it as a win. Growing up, my brother was a Lions fan. I have a bit of a soft spot for them and I would like to see them do well, but I have very little faith in Jim Caldwell as a head coach, losing Calvin Johnson is a major blow and he quite literally is irreplaceable as one-person talent, and the Jags are surging. That said, the Lions put together an impressive late-season run in 2015 and could surprise some people in the coming season. This one is going to be a close one, but I think the Jags take it. I’d like to see it be high-scoring game with Bortles and Stafford showing just how great they are as quarterbacks. That’s just exciting football to watch."
Lions’ record: 2-11
Next: Week 13 at Saints
Week 13 – at New Orleans Saints
Read the full Saints Q&A here.
Barry Hirstius of Big Easy Believer‘s prediction: Toss up
"It’s a toss-up. The Lions beat the Saints at the Superdome last year, a game that in years past the Saints probably would have won easily — with or without the Lions having Megatron. The Saints should be improved over what they’ve been in recent seasons, but they’re nowhere near being one of the top-tiered teams in the NFC that they were several years ago. It will be a “winnable” game for either team, when they finally meet."
Lions’ record: 2.5-11.5
Next: Week 15 at Giants
Week 15 – at New York Giants
Read the full Giants Q&A here.
Curt Macysyn of GMEN HQ‘s prediction: Giants win
"The game against the Lions is arguably the easiest non-division home game on the schedule. If the G-Men have any thoughts of making the playoffs, then this is an absolutely must game for the team."
Lions’ record: 2.5-12.5
Next: Week 16 at Cowboys
Week 16 – at Dallas Cowboys
Read the full Cowboys Q&A here.
Steven Mullenax of The Landry Hat‘s prediction: Cowboys win
"A Week 16 matchup, this is a tough prediction. But I expect the Cowboys offense to be one of the best in the NFL. Because of their defense, expect most of their battles this season to be a scoring fest. If that’s the case against the Lions, I’ll give the slight edge to Dallas’ offense at home since they appear to be a more complete team on that side of the ball at this point."
Lions’ record: 2.5-13.5
Next: Most Underrated Detroit Lions in Team History
So there you have it. Playing the schedule game from the opposition’s point of view has the Lions finishing with only two or three wins with range of 0-16 to 5-11 depending on how toss up games play out.
The fact that no one was willing to mark down their team’s game against the Lions as anything worse than a toss up says a lot about how the rest of the league views the Lions and their chances to compete this season. Hopefully the opposing view doesn’t have as good of a read on the team as they did last season.