The Detroit Lions are 3-1 for the second season in a row, and we all know what success has recently meant for them -- namely that imminent doom must be right around the corner. If there were a statistic for soul-crushing disappointment after high hopes, the Lions would lead the NFL in it. From 2011 through last season, they endured a league-high 71 disaster plays, defined here as those reducing win probability by at least 15 percentage points. That's about as close as we can come to quantifying heartbreak.
That painful history is not going to subside easily, but through four games, there is evidence the 2014 season could be different for Detroit. These Lions have already achieved telling milestones on each side of the ball, and so far they've avoided the disaster plays as we defined them above. It's a new day in Detroit and in the NFC North, the only division where every team is .500 or better.
My list of 10 takeaways from Week 4 focuses on the surprising Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens, among others, but we begin with Detroit.
1. These Lions are different (so far) in meaningful ways.
Defense: The 2013 Lions held three opponents to 17 or fewer points. The 2014 team has done it three times in its first four games under new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Facing Geno Smith and the New York Jets in Week 4 helped, and the New York Giants were brutal against Detroit in the opener. But looking back to last season, Minnesota put up 24 points on Detroit in the opener even with Christian Ponder tossing three interceptions. The Lions have been solid on defense so far, especially when they held Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay to 6.0 yards per attempt and seven points. Rodgers had no such troubles at Chicago, a telling two-week stretch.