Sunday’s impressive 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings elevated the Detroit Lions to a 6-7 record. The Week 14 win also pushed Detroit’s season point differential (points scored vs. points allowed) into the positive. Detroit is now a plus-2 on the season.
That might not seem like something to brag about, but it’s been more than a little while since Detroit had a positive point differential this late in a season. Five years, to be exact.
The last time the Lions were in the black on points in December was 2017. A 20-10 win over the Buccaneers in Week 15 of Jim Caldwell’s final season as head coach lifted Detroit into a positive point differential that year, a status they maintained over the final two weeks.
It’s been a long time since the Lions were positive in points scored versus points allowed at any point in a year. The last time Detroit held that status was entering Week 6 of the 2019 season. A 42-30 loss to the Vikings dropped those Lions into the red. They haven’t been out of the hole since, until Sunday.
The 9-point win over Minnesota also elevated the Lions to being the only NFC North team with a positive point differential. The Vikings are now minus-1 on the season — even with their 10-3 overall record. Detroit is plus-53 in the last six weeks.
