3 and Oh Hey, Didn't See You There

Since these two franchises were first formed they have stared failure in the face and blinked. One has enjoyed success in the 1960's, but then shrank from the spotlight when the AFL and NFL merged in 1970. The other has the second longest championship drought in football and does not have a single Super Bowl appearance. One is the somber owner of an 0-16 regular season, and the other is the only team to go to four consecutive Super Bowls and loose every one of them. 

But 2011 has been different for both of these franchises. They have both replaced mediocrity with consistency, inconsistency with stability, and losses with wins. And despite the fact that the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions will not play each other in the regular season, they have each taken their respective conferences by storm. 

The Lions and Bills have such similar formulas for success that they look like the same team at times. Both teams have explosive offenses that can score with almost anybody. Both of these teams have defenses that do not scare anybody on paper, but are surprisingly solid on game day. 

But what may be most impressive about the Bills and Lions in 2011 is the fact that they both have beaten two above average teams in impressive fashion. Both Detroit and Buffalo put up 40 point victories against the Kansas City Chiefs, who won ten games and were the AFC West champions last year. The Detroit Lions also beat a ten win Tampa Bay Buccaneer team who many picked to make the playoffs in 2011. While the Buffalo Bills made an improbable comeback to defeat the New England Patriots just last week. 

There are still plenty of tough games ahead for both of these teams, and thoughts of crashing their playoff parties are still just thoughts. But one thing is for sure, the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are on everybody's radar and should not be slept on.