Heading into Week 7, the Lions were looked upon as one of the best teams in the NFL, sitting atop the NFC North with a 5–1 record.
After winning four consecutive games by double-digit margins, many fans and pundits were buying into Detroit as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Among those was ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who went as far as to power rank the Lions as his top overall team on First Take.
However, after suffering a 38–6 thrashing at the hands of the Ravens, Smith has quickly reversed course on the latest episode of his podcast the Stephen A. Smith Show, calling the Lions "fraudulent."