Here’s why the Steelers shouldn’t pay attention to the Lions winless record

The Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the Detroit Lions in Week 10 of the NFL season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering Week 10 on a four-game winning streak, and with the Detroit Lions as the next opponent, many are already counting it as five—the Steelers would be wise not to feed into that noise.

Pittsburgh enters at 5-3 while the Lions come in at 0-8, so in theory, the Steelers should comfortably run Detroit off Heinz Field. However, the NFL doesn’t work like that, and that exact mindset would contribute to Pittsburgh being upset.

Aside from giving every opponent your full respect, Detroit has demonstrated that they are relatively better than their winless record. If the Steelers don’t approach them seriously, they will give the Lions their first win.

The Steelers can’t overlook the Lions

For as many headlines as Detroit’s head coach, Dan Campbell, has created about his tough spirit and macho personality, he really does have a tough team in the Lions. That hasn’t manifested into any wins, yet, but they have come very close.

In Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, the Lions were down 38-10 in the third quarter and clawed back before eventually losing 41-33. In Week 3 they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 19-17 after Justin Tucker kicked a record 66-yard game-winning field goal. In Week 5, they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 19-17 on another last-second field goal.

Aside from those three games, they have hung around and competed with quality teams, while they haven’t got any wins, they rarely get rolled over. That means that they are going to come into Pittsburgh on Sunday and fight until the very end, giving their all in search of their first victory.

If the Steelers even start the game taking them lightly, they will end up in a dog fight. Playing a close game against inferior teams gives the underdogs a puncher’s chance, and in this wild NFL, anyone can get knocked out— ask the Bills.

Pittsburgh has to enter this game locked in and be prepared to extend maximum effort from start to finish. They have to execute in all three phases and avoid a close game at all costs. Sure, Detroit is historically prone to heartbreaks, but they are a bounced ball away from many of those results flipping.

If the Steelers enter this game expecting an easy outing, they will be doing themselves a disservice. Taking this winless Detroit team lightly is how a team becomes a meme for being the one opponent that they did beat. The Steelers have to show up focused and beat the fight out of the Lions.