DETROIT – The playoff race is heating up as the Detroit Lions hope to clinch a spot this weekend and climb closer to a division title.
Here’s the current situation: The Lions are 9-4 and lead the NFC North Division by two games over the Vikings and three games over the Packers. If the season ended now, Detroit would be the No. 3 seed in the conference and host its first playoff game at Ford Field.
How Lions can clinch this weekend
This weekend’s clinching scenario is pretty simple: The Lions have to beat the Broncos and both the Rams and Seahawks have to lose.
Every team has four games left to play, and the Lions have a three-game lead over a large group of teams with 6-7 records. That includes the Rams and Seahawks.
The Rams play the Commanders and the Seahawks play the Eagles. The biggest hurdle to Detroit clinching this weekend is definitely that Commanders-Rams game.
Click here to read my full breakdown of what the Lions need to clinch this weekend.
What Lions need to clinch going forward
If the Lions win three or four of their final four games, they’re guaranteed to win the division. But what if they go 2-2, 1-3, or 0-4?
There are a wide range of possibilities, and if the Lions go 1-3 or 2-2, it very much matters whether those wins come against the Vikings.
To summarize, the Lions would almost surely win the NFC North if they can win two more games. Even one win against the Vikings would probably be enough.
As you can imagine, finishing 0-4 would put the Lions in great jeopardy of missing the postseason altogether, and they would have no chance to win the North.
Click here to see what would happen to the Lions in every possible remaining scenario.
Tiebreaker with Vikings
What would happen if the Lions finish the regular season tied with the Vikings?
Short answer: It wouldn’t be good.
Since the NFL’s primary tiebreaker to settle a division title is divisional record, the Lions would not beat the Vikings in a tiebreaking scenario.
Click here to read in-depth about that tiebreaker and why the Lions cannot possibly win it.
Tiebreaker with Packers
Green Bay is really on the brink of elimination from the division race after its loss to the Giants on Monday. But it’s not over yet.
The Lions lead the Packers by three games, so for the Packers to catch up, they would need the Lions to go 1-3 or 0-4.
Is it likely? No. Could it happen? The way the Lions have been playing -- absolutely.
And once again, the Lions can’t afford to get into a tiebreaking situation with the Packers, because they would lose based on divisional record.
Click here to read that full breakdown (and why the tiebreaker that would have helped the Lions is no longer possible).
