A Detroit Lions-free Sunday still provided plenty of clues to this season's ultimate fate

Halfway through the Detroit Lions' season — give or take a game — it’s time to put things into perspective. We didn't have a Lions game to watch Sunday, but there were plenty of options on the remote to describe this campaign ... TV-style.

"Love It Or List It"

Lions general manager Brad Holmes has started a complete renovation on the Lions’ roster, tearing it down to the studs and rebuilding it with draft picks. But it's not done, which is important to keep in mind. Holmes could have made a significant move at the trade deadline, giving up future draft picks and trying to add pieces to win now, thanks to the team's great position. But he stayed the course. He stuck with his guys, adding only Donovan Peoples-Jones while giving up a mere sixth-round pick for the former Detroit Cass Tech star.

We won’t know for months if Holmes' strategy was a good decision, or if he wasted a chance to win now.

And we won’t know for years how many chances like this season the Lions will get.

But Holmes’ formulative years were spent with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, an organization that had a basic working premise: Trade everything not nailed down. (And if it is nailed down, get a hammer and pry it loose.)

That wheeling and dealing led to a Super Bowl title, led by former Lions QB Matthew Stafford. Good for them.

But the Rams were unable to find sustained success; they went 5-12 in their Super Bowl follow-up last season and dropped to 3-6 this year.

That Holmes didn’t deal his future picks tells me he learned from the Rams’ mistakes. He is trying to build for the long term, trying to create a sustained winner and not just cash in for one year.

“Yeah, I think, ultimately, we said — Brad and I said from Day 1, man, we have a plan in place that we don’t want to alter,” coach Dan Campbell told reporters last week. “We don’t want to mess with that and we’re in Year 3 of this right now, our beginning of Year 3, and everything had to be right. I just go back — it had to be the right player, it had to be the right fit and it had to be the right price, all three of those, and that’s not an easy thing to do, but that’s how we look at it. And so, you know what? We found one.”

LISTEN UP: Detroit Lions QB Hendon Hooker on injury recovery, navigating rookie year

"60 Minutes"

It's a Sunday tradition on CBS, which will broadcast the Lions' next game: Tick tick tick tick tick ... I’m planting my flag right here. Obviously, it’s one game at a time, and the players can’t look ahead, but I can — even beyond Sunday's game against the L.A. Chargers. The most important, ahem, 60 minutes looming in the future will be against Dallas on Dec. 30 (a Saturday, actually). And it will determine where the Lions will open the playoffs: at Ford Field or on the road.

"The Good Doctor"

The Lions are in a tremendous position, at 6-2 and still leading the NFC North by 1½ games despite Minnesota's four-game win streak.

Even better? The Lions should get healthy soon.

Offensive linemen Jonah Jackson (ankle) and Frank Ragnow (calf) should be back Sunday, which will offer a boost to the offense.

And running back David Montgomery, who has been out with a rib injury, is expected back as well.

Jahmyr Gibbs was fantastic against the Las Vegas Raiders last Monday, but Montgomery has been outstanding all season when healthy. With this team, everything starts with the run. And having two healthy running backs will give this team a huge advantage.

“I think we’re going to get reinforcements back when we get back for the Chargers, that are going to be critical to helping us,” Campbell said last week. “Certainly, it’ll only help us. And then we’ve got a number of guys that, just the nature of the way we play, that I think, just to get a little more energy back, get their legs back under them.”

"Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

There’s an old adage about offensive lines: The best ones grow together over time. Consistency requires stability and healthy bodies. It requires just being together, playing together.

But the Lions have done it the hard way, starting seven different offensive line combinations in eight games.

That, in itself, is remarkable, winning despite that kind of instability.

The Lions' offensive line has been so strong, so consistent — no matter who is in the game — that we have almost come to expect it.

The credit goes to offensive line coach Hank Fraley.

MORE FROM JEFF SEIDEL Lions' win creates a rare moment in time: Everything lines up perfectly for them

"Survivor"

If the Lions don't want their torch extinguished, either in the regular season or the playoffs, at some point, it likely will come down to a field goal.

Lions kicker Riley Patterson is 11-for-13 this season, which offers some comfort. He has experience kicking in the playoffs — he made all three of his field goal tries with the Jacksonville Jaguars in January — which is fantastic. Granted, it was just two games. But he won’t freak out.

But it's hardly an immunity idol: His career long is just 53 yards and he’s just 3-for-6 from 50 yards or more.

Which is concerning.

And it’s bound to impact the Lions at some point, setting up a huge fourth-down play when a strong-legged kicker could go for it but the Lions will be forced to gamble.

"The Voice"

To this point, the Lions' most impressive success has been their response to last month's disaster against the Baltimore Ravens. In days of old, this team would have folded the following week against the Raiders, especially with an extra day to mull it over.

But Campbell has such a strong message, such a strong voice, that he got this team back on track.

So even if the Lions drop an unexpected game during the regular season — and this is the NFL, so it’s bound to happen — I don’t think it will linger.

Because of that voice, setting the tone.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: It's time to give some credit to the real reason for this Detroit Lions turnaround

"The Equalizer"

It’s time to give defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn credit. He has turned this into a top-10 defense. And it starts with stopping the run.

"The Neighborhood"

The Lions are in first place in the NFC North, and nobody looks scary anymore. Not the Green Bay Packers. Not the Chicago Bears. Not even the Vikings, who won their first game with Joshua Dobbs at QB in place of former MSU standout Kirk Cousins, who's out for the season.

"Top Chef"

So who's the one player — aside from the obvious choice of QB Jared Goff — who will be the most important for the Lions the rest of this season?

You could make an argument for Amon-Ra St. Brown. Or Aidan Hutchinson. Or Gibbs or Montgomery.

Part of me thinks rookie defensive back Brian Branch will have a huge impact the rest of the way, if he can stay healthy and continue to take steps forward.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone has played fantastic, and he is so smart that he’s like a coach on the field.

As the names went through my head, it dawned on me: That’s the beauty of this team. There is so much talent at the offensive skill positions, so many cogs on the offensive line, so many improving players on defense ... I don’t think it will come down to one player. There is no “Top Chef,” and that’s a huge credit to Holmes and the roster he is building, a group of diverse ingredients sure to satisfy almost any palate.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' crazy run is only half over, so stay tuned