Detroit Lions Power Rankings: After Bad Loss, Mediocre Defense Exposed

Here are the latest Week 5 NFL power rankings and how the Detroit Lions fared, following a 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Sports Illustrated

Power ranking: 18th
Previous ranking: 14th

"A tip for Amon-Ra St. Brown: if you would like the quarterback of the Detroit Lions to come back on your podcast, you can’t blow him up for being a distant teammate on the first visit!"

ESPN

Power ranking: 16th
Previous ranking: 13th

"Like the famous line from the 2000 film "Gladiator," you're guaranteed some level of entertainment with this 2026 Lions team. Detroit scored at least 31 points in three of four games while also allowing 30 or more points in each. After the Week 3 win over the Jets, even coach Dan Campbell had to jokingly admit the Lions are worth the price of admission. "Tell you what, you're coming to our games? You're loving this now," Campbell said. "I mean, these are exciting games. Nobody's leaving early. And that was the point. We're not going to let anybody leave early this year.""

The Athletic

Power ranking: 12th
Previous ranking: 6th

"This season, the Lions were supposed to be good enough to take advantage of an easy schedule. Instead, they’re coming off a loss because they couldn’t slow down Bryce Young, who threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, and the vaunted(?) Panthers offense. The secondary is going to have nightmares about Tetairoa McMillan (14 receptions, 192 yards and two touchdowns)."

Fox Sports

Power ranking: 13th
Previous ranking: 14th

"The Lions never had a great defensive outfit in the Dan Campbell era, but they were at least decent for a while. Now? Despite 15 sacks — second in the NFL — they’re giving up an NFL-worst 31.8 points per game. You know who they are? They are the Dallas Cowboys. They play like they have to win games 38-35. Even mediocre defensive play would make this team a Super Bowl contender."

USA Today

Power ranking: 15th
Previous ranking: 10th

"They're certainly leaning on their stars, RB Jahmyr Gibbs with the most touches (102) in the league and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (46) with the most targets. Gonna be hard to deviate from that formula given how bad the league's most permissive defense has been … a state of affairs that seems unlikely to change any time soon."

Fansided

Power ranking: 21st
Previous ranking: 18th

"I guess their super power is running behind an extra lineman as much as anyone and trying to run the ball down your throat under center as much as possible. I feel like there is limited high upside in that. The defense, even when they get healthy, is probably not going to be nearly as good as they would like. They just give up big plays like crazy."

Bleacher Report

Power ranking: 18th
Previous ranking: 13th

The Detroit Lions' defensive issues go beyond their missing starting safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. The Lions had no answer for Tetairoa McMillan, who caught 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, or Chuba Hubbard, who ran for 122 yards and two scores.

Head coach Dan Campbell needs to re-evaluate the team's defensive structure and game plan with coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. At some point, even with professional backups, the unit must adjust when the opposing team's best pass-catcher and lead ball-carrier go up and down the field with little resistance.

The Lions have a top-five offense and arguably the league's worst defense, which is a recipe for mediocrity.

Sporting News

Power ranking: 18th
Previous ranking: 11th

The Lions' defense has been terrible for most of the season, save for Aidan Hutchinson. That's putting too much on Jared Goff when Jahmyr Gibbs gets contained, like he was at Carolina.

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