DETROIT – Don’t look now, but the Detroit Lions are suddenly in great position to win the NFC North Division after crushing the Packers on the road.
Going into the Thursday Night Football battle at Lambeau Field, both the Lions and Packers sat atop the North at 2-1. With Minnesota and Chicago both winless, this matchup was guaranteed to put one of those teams in the driver’s seat.
Turns out that team was Detroit. Even though the Lions are only one game ahead of the Packers in the standings, they now have the inside track to the head-to-head tiebreaker, especially if they beat the Packers at home on Thanksgiving Day.
All the pressure for that rematch is on the Packers if they want to have a chance in the division race.
Nobody knows better than the Lions how these early games can affect a playoff race. Last season, a Week 4 loss to Seattle ultimately kept the Lions out of the postseason. Both teams tied for the final playoff spot at 9-8, but the Seahawks got in because of their head-to-head win.
Fast forward to Week 4 this year, and it’s the Lions who are sitting pretty.
The Vikings can’t be counted out yet -- they did, after all, win the North and finish with a 13-4 record last season. But the Lions already have a nice head start, and there’s basically no more breathing room for the Vikings.
It’s not even a quarter of the way through a 17-game season, but the Lions have to love where they’re at. Now, they’ve got 10 days before a home game against the 0-3 Panthers.
