A weekly examination of the Lions’ ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 24 | Last Week: 18 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

The Lions stayed exactly the same from the second to third week of the season, and that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Detroit played like a middle-of-the-pack team last week -- and really, the past two weeks, considering the Lions have enjoyed one really strong half of the four they’ve played this season -- and that's why they're at No. 18 right now.

As with many teams residing in the middle of the pack, it is tough to get a gauge for exactly what type of team Detroit is at the moment. Detroit has a chance to make a move up the rankings next week as it heads to No. 24 Washington, a team that has been struggling both offensively and defensively. This is actually a pretty big week for the Lions if they want to make an early-season push up the rankings.

The next two weeks, Detroit faces division rivals Chicago and Green Bay, so beating the struggling Redskins becomes a big deal. Reggie Bush's health will matter here, too.