In mid-November, the Detroit Lions are playing for the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the best record in the entire league.
It's no joke. The 7-2 Lions head to Arizona to take on the 8-1 Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
Here are three storylines to follow plus a prediction:
--- It might not sound as sexy as Tom Brady vs. Andrew Luck or Aaron Rodgers against a Chip Kelly offense, but this Detroit-Arizona matchup is as good as it gets this week on paper.
The Lions and Cardinals have combined for only three losses this season compared to five for both the New England-Indianapolis and Green Bay-Philadelphia matchups.
Nobody is hotter than Detroit and Arizona, who have combined for nine straight victories. The Patriots and Colts have won six straight between them, and the Packers-Eagles have combined for just three consecutive wins.
The only downside about Detroit-Arizona? Obviously, they're historically two of the league's worst franchises, especially the Lions, so there's a tendency to still dismiss them and wonder if both could fade down the stretch.
There's also the issue of Arizona's quarterback. The Cardinals will start journeyman Drew Stanton, a former Lion, after losing Carson Palmer to a season-ending knee injury this week.
Nevertheless, this is an intriguing showdown between two upstart teams.
Arizona's Bruce Arians and Detroit's Jim Caldwell are arguably the top two Coach of the Year candidates in the league.
The defensive coordinators -- Todd Bowles for the Cardinals and Teryl Austin for the Lions -- are have contributed greatly to their team's success. The Lions have the top-ranked defense in Austin's first year, and Arizona allows the fourth-fewest points, largely because of a ball-hawking approach to force turnovers.
Each team has shown great resiliency in overcoming key injuries to this point, although the Cardinals now face that ultimate challenge without their starting QB.
Detroit has been a great comeback team in the final minutes, winning its last three in dramatic fashion, but Arizona is tremendous in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 91-34.
The Lions are trying to get to their first Super Bowl, and the Cardinals are hoping to be the first to ever play host to the biggest game.
One question going into Sunday is whether Detroit can figure out a way to win in Arizona. The Lions have lost seven straight in the desert, including the last two seasons. The last time they won out there was in 1993.
You know what also happened that year? It was the last time the Lions were 7-2 and also the last time they won a division championship.
Just one more reason to think the stars might be aligning just right for Caldwell & Company.
--- Coaches like to use the term "good-on-good" but that would be doing Calvin Johnson and Patrick Peterson an injustice.
Their matchup will be "great-on-great."
Johnson, when healthy, is the top receiver in the NFL. Peterson, who had two interceptions last Sunday and was named NFC's Defensive Player of the Year, is one of the top cornerbacks. They're expected to go head-to-head often.
"He's one of the top athletes in the game," Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of Peterson. "So it's really going to be a fun matchup to watch."
The other matchup might not get as much hype, but it could be just as good. Lions 5-foot-10 receiver Golden Tate has been playing like a MVP candidate and likely will be up against Cardinals 6-2 cornerback Antonio Cromartie quite a bit.
"Probably one of the top corner tandems in the NFL," Lombardi said of the Arizona duo.
The Cardinals' defense, however, has been giving up a lot of yards. They bend but don't break, and they're a takeaway machine.
Based on the track records, this game could easily come down to whether the Lions have to settle for field-goal attempts in or near the red zone and whether quarterback Matthew Stafford can avoid the costly turnover.
--- At Michigan State, Stanton's coach, John L. Smith, referred to him as "The Drunken Sailor" for his sometimes awkward though often effective running style.
Give Stanton credit. He's a survivor who has been collecting NFL paychecks for eight years now.
He's completed only 53.6 percent of his passes in the league, but he finds ways to be effective enough to hang around. His team has won four of his seven career starts, including going 2-1 when Palmer was down earlier in the season.
The Cardinals had an aggressive down-field passing style with Palmer. The Lions say they expect the same with Stanton.
"I don't think they'll be much different at all," Austin said. "I think Bruce (Arians) is going to call the games like he wants them. He's going to try to make the defense be on their heels. I think he's going to keep his game plan the same.
"Their best players are all of their skill-position players. If he tried to tame down the game plan, I think he'd be taking his best players out of the game. I don't think that's going to happen at all. Their whole playbook is going to be open, and it'll be up to Stanton to execute."
Those Arizona playmakers not only include Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, but also rookie receiver John Brown, a third-round pick from Pittsburg State.
For the Cardinals, it all comes down to Stanton.
Say what you want, but the guy has a knack for making the most of his opportunities, even when so many might doubt him.
Taking over a Super Bowl-caliber team with seven weeks to go is the opportunity of a lifetime for him.
Does he have what it takes? We're going to find out Sunday when he faces Ndamukong Suh and the Lions' surprising lock-down defense.
PICK:
LIONS +1
(Dye's season prediction record: 4-5).
