ESPN analyst not sold on improving Lions

Although the Detroit Lions climbed as high as No. 20 in the ESPN power rankings this season and are putting up some strong statistics, one of the network’s analysts still isn’t a believer in Dan Campbell and company.

In a recent column predicting which teams should be on upset alert in Week 4, Jeremy Fowler boldly stated he believed that despite the strides the Lions had shown in Weeks 1-3, he believed that the Seattle Seahawks would leave Lumen Field on Sunday with their second win of the year.

“I love how Detroit is improving but still don't trust the Lions to finish games just yet,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said. “Seattle's run defense has been shaky, so expect Pete Carroll's staff to address that issue with changes this week. D'Andre Swift's absence hurts Detroit's big-play potential out of the backfield. With Detroit averaging nearly 32 points per game, the Seahawks must be prepared to win a shootout if necessary. I think they are up for it.”

While the numbers don’t suggest Seattle holds an advantage anywhere — the Lions rank third in the NFL in both total offense (409 yards per game) and rushing offense (170.3 yards per game) and have the second-best scoring offense (33 points per game), while the Seahawks rank 28th, 29th and 29th, respectively, in the same categories — Detroit is quite banged up.

Running back D’Andre Swift, receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark, guard Jonah Jackson, defensive end John Cominsky and kicker Austin Seibert have all been ruled out for Sunday’s game.