ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Each week, we’ll take a look at who or what might be rising or falling with the Detroit Lions.

RISING:

RB Reggie Bush: Yes, he’s said it before and not played. And yes, trusting Bush’s ankle without seeing him play in a full game first is a dicey situation at best. But the running back said Tuesday he believes he will play Thursday in the Lions’ Thanksgiving game, the first time he will play since Week 10 if he ends up being good to go Thursday. Considering Detroit’s offensive woes this season, the Lions could use a healthy Reggie Bush in the lineup to be a potential game-breaker.

The Lions defense: This might seem odd a week after Detroit allowed 34 points to the New England Patriots, but the Lions will not face a better quarterback or offensive system until Week 17 at Green Bay. They hung around for the most part and still are in the top five run defenses, total defense and points allowed per game. Every team is going to have a game like Detroit did defensively. The Lions just happened to have it against a Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady.

FALLING:

WR Calvin Johnson: The top receiver in the NFL insists he’s feeling pretty good, but his production the past three weeks has been a bit concerning. He’s caught less than 50 percent of his targets and had two drops. He’s still an impact receiver but if Johnson isn’t at close to full speed, the Lions offense is definitely altered.

Lions playoff chances: A week ago, Detroit appeared to be in good shape for the playoffs and even if they didn’t win the NFC North, a good candidate for the wild-card spot. There is still a lot of game left, but the Lions’ playoff hopes took a little bit of a hit over the weekend when they dropped one game behind Green Bay in the division and are now tied with Seattle and San Francisco at 7-4. The bigger problem? If the Lions and Seahawks have the same record at the end of the year, Seattle already owns the tiebreaker.

The Lions offense: Yes, they played two of the better teams in the NFL and yes, they say they are still trying to find both the consistency and rhythm that they need to crave, but almost three-quarters of the way through the season, Detroit’s offensive identity is inconsistency. This is a group, with their next four opponents under .500, that has to find something to aid their 21st-ranked offense fairly fast.