Are Detroit Lions better than San Francisco 49ers? NFL analyst weighs-in | Sporting News

When it comes to the NFC in 2024, there are two teams that stand out above the rest in the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers, both of whom met in NFC Championship Game last season.

But who is better? Well, most would defer to the 49ers since they beat the Lions in that game, but one NFL analyst thinks differently.

When touching on the subject recently, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said he thinks the Lions will be better this coming season. He didn’t exactly provide an explanation for the take, but here it is:

“It feels like it’s the Lions this year,” Florio said. “Last year, the Lions were kind of in that mode with the 49ers. It feels like it’s the Lions, and then maybe the 49ers this year. That’s just visceral from my perspective, that’s not based on betting odds or anything like that. I feel like this is it for the Lions. This is the peak, and the next logical step is for them to get to the Super Bowl, but who knows?”

I mean, that’s certainly not a crazy take by any stretch. After all, the Lions were just 30 minutes from beating the Niners after taking a 24-7 lead into halftime before completely blowing it, and the Niners needed a little bit of luck, also.

And much of that same Lions team is returning, plus Detroit beefed up its defense with key additions to the defensive front and secondary.

The Lions and Niners will meet in Week 17, which will be a good gauge for where these two teams stand. However, the outcome of that contest will not matter if they meet in the playoffs once again.