Unfortunately for the Detroit Lions, 9-7 was not good enough to squeeze into the NFL Playoffs in 2017. They certainly had their chances and if a couple of plays would have gone their way, they would have had their shot.

That being said, on an individual basis, the Lions had some players perform admirably this past season and a because of that, three have made the Pro Football Focus “Top 101 Players from the 2017 NFL season” list.

But the question is, which three Lions players got the nod? Who got left out that deserved to be there? Let’s find out.

The highest ranked Detroit Lion to make the Top 101 is safety Glover Quin who came in at No. 60.

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Via Pro Football Focus:

Glover Quin was another player to put together a career year and vault himself into the PFF top 101 for 2017. The Detroit Lions safety was a force both in coverage and against the run for the Lions, setting a career-high in defensive stops with 27 over the year. Quin allowed a passer rating of just 55.4 when thrown at in primary coverage, surrendering just 7.1 yards per reception on those plays.

PFF Elite Stat: Quin was seventh among safeties with 0.19 yards per coverage snap allowed.

Up next as far as the Lions go is Darius Slay who ranked just below Quin at No. 62. As we know, Slay was voted into his first NFL Pro Bowl for his outstanding play this past season.

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Somehow Darius Slay‘s season flew largely under the radar, despite some eye-popping coverage numbers. Slay allowed a passer rating of 55.6 when targeted and was not beaten for a pass longer than 37 yards all season. He also had 21 combined interceptions and pass breakups, which led all corners by two over the season. In doing so, Slay also tied for the league lead in interceptions.

PFF Elite Stat: Slay was sixth among cornerbacks with a passer rating allowed of 55.6 this year.

The final Detroit Lion to make the PFF Top 100 has to be Matthew Stafford, right? Well, if you have followed Pro Football Focus, you realize their rating rarely make an ounce of sense. So, you will not be surprised to find out that Stafford did not make the list at all. Instead, Golden Tate managed to get onto the list at No. 88.

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Golden Tate had another outstanding season for the Detroit Lions, earning an overall PFF grade of 86.4, which actually sets a new career-high for him. Tate led the league in broken tackles among wide receivers, with 22 players missing tackles on Tate once he had the pass in his hands.

PFF Elite Stat: Tate ranked second in yards gained from the slot (761) and tied for third in touchdowns from the slot (five).

Now, we are not arguing that Quin, Slay, and Tate are not deserving but to leave Matthew Stafford off the list takes away any little piece of credibility Pro Football Focus had left.