James Jahnke

Detroit Free Press

You're skeptical of the Detroit Lions, despite their 7-2 record. Understandable. You're a living being with a memory (and maybe a few scars).

But the cold, hard facts indicate that you should clear your schedule for some January games this season.

FootballOutsiders.com has some sort of mathematical formula that we won't pretend to understand that predicts what will happen the rest of the way in the NFL. According to the numbers, the Lions currently have a 60.7% chance of winning the NFC North and a 44.7% chance of getting a first-round bye in the playoffs.

And their chances of simply making the playoffs? A startling 90.1%.

In nine projections out of 10, your Lions are in the postseason. You'll take it, right?

Other numbers of note: Their mean number of wins is 11.2. And they have a 23.2% chance of having home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, second only to this week's opponent, the 8-1 Arizona Cardinals (38.3%).

Time to get excited?