DETROIT – The Detroit Lions have dominated the NFC North this entire season, but how close are they to actually clinching the division for the first time?
Heading into last week, the Lions’ magic number was three over both the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. They got a little help on Monday Night Football when the Packers lost, but the actual magic number hasn’t changed.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, a team’s “magic number” is the combination of its own wins and fellow contenders’ losses that would result in that team clinching.
Right now, the Lions’ magic number is still three over the Vikings because the Lions lost to the Bears and the Vikings beat the Raiders last weekend.
That means for the rest of the regular season, if the sum of Lions wins and Vikings losses adds up to at least three, the Lions will eliminate Minnesota from the division.
Detroit’s magic number over the Packers is two, so that’s also something to keep an eye on.
The Lions have sat atop the North since the very start of the season, when they went to Kansas City and knocked off the Chiefs in the league’s first game. Their lead grew as large as 3.5 games before this recent rough stretch sliced it to two.
Detroit is 9-4, the Vikings are 7-6, and the Packers are 6-7, so there’s still a little room for error.
This division race is unique because the Lions and Vikings will meet twice in the final three weeks. A head-to-head win would take two full games off the magic number.
The Lions host the Broncos on Saturday night. About seven hours prior, the Vikings will kick off the weekend at the Bengals. Green Bay hosts the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.
