The Detroit Lions were given a lot of respect coming into the 2012 NFL Season, after establishing their offense as elite time and time again a season ago. They're still a force to be reckoned with, but after Week 1, that respect seems to be going down just a little bit. Tuesday is the big day around the Internet for weekly power rankings, and despite being 1-0 heading into the second week of the season, they seem to be dropping.
Joel Thorman of SB Nation originally had the Lions at No. 9 heading into Week 1, but in his Week 2 power rankings, he's dropped them to No. 14:
14. Detroit Lions (LW: 9, 1-0): The Handshake, Part II coming soon as Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers host the Lions next Sunday night. That's appointment television.
While Thorman doesn't touch on the specifics of dropping the Lions a whole five spots, their struggles against the lowly St. Louis Rams obviously play some part in it. Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions against just one touchdown on the day, and the Lions had to steal the win in the final 20 seconds.
ESPN had them at No. 12 prior to the start of the season, and dropped them one spot, citing the three interceptions as the major reason for bringing them down. The National Football Post was a bit more lax in their rankings, keeping the Lions in their Week 1 spot at No. 13.
Detroit's biggest critic after Sunday's game is Brian Billick of FOX Sports. Billick had the Lions at No. 10 to start the season and has now moved them down five spots to No. 15:
It didn't get off to a great start, or even a great middle, but Matthew Stafford puts together his seventh career fourth-quarter comeback in the win on Sunday. I don't anticipate Stafford will struggle this badly for the rest of the season, but his ability to put all of that behind him to complete two scoring drives to lead the comeback was impressive.
On Sunday, the Lions will take on the San Francisco 49ers, who bested the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. It's going to be a tough matchup, but if they play well at the very least, some of these experts may be more likely to bump the Lions up a couple spots. They moved the Lions down in a win, so playing well against a team like the 49ers could lead to some more respect.
For more on the Detroit Lions, check out SB Nation's Pride of Detroit. You can also check out plenty of analysis from around the league at SB Nation's main NFL hub.