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Even without playing the Detroit Lions moved up in this week's SB Nation NFL Power Rankings according to Joel Thorman. Last week the Lions sat in seventh position, but this week they advanced one spot to No. 6 despite being off last week. They were able to move up mostly because of losses by New England and Pittsburgh:
6. Detroit Lions (6-2, LW: 7): The Lion play at Chicago next week in what's shaping up to be a big divisional game. Beat them, the Panthers the following week and then it's Thanksgiving showdown against Green Bay.
The schedule gets much tougher for Detroit from here on out as they look to return to the playoffs. The Bears earned an impressive win at Philadelphia on Monday night, and that was enough to keep them at No. 13 in this week's poll. Of course, two games with No. 1 Green Bay, including one on Thanksgiving, highlight the second half of the season.