DETROIT – This past week couldn’t have gone much better for the Detroit Lions’ playoff hopes.
One week ago, the Lions woke up on Monday morning in a much worse position. For the first time in months, their lead in the NFC North Division had fallen to two games, and they were coming off an ugly loss to the last-place Chicago Bears.
That night, the tides completely turned.
The Green Bay Packers lost to a Giants team that, frankly, isn’t very good. Instead of climbing into a tie with the Vikings, the Packers dropped a full three games behind the Lions.
Saturday brought even more good news. The Vikings blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead against the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Lions a bit of extra breathing room, and then the Lions went out and dominated the Denver Broncos to add another game to their division lead.
As a cherry on top, the Packers lost at home to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to officially eliminate themselves from the divisional race.
Now the Lions find themselves three games ahead of the Vikings with three weeks remaining. All they have to do is win one of the next three games -- two of which are against those Vikings -- to clinch their first NFC North title ever.
One week ago, it felt like both the Packers and Vikings were starting to close in. A lot can change in seven days.
Sunday also brought Detroit the gift of Dallas losing to Buffalo by 21 points. That knocked the Cowboys into a tie with the Lions at 10-4, leaving the door open for a possible final push for the No. 2 seed.
It’s unlikely, but it’s still possible, and that’s all the Lions can ask for after the last few weeks.
Even though the Los Angeles Rams won and kept the Lions from clinching a playoff spot, virtually everything fell into place for the Lions this weekend. They appear to have righted the ship and are back in firm control of the NFC North.
And it only gets better on Monday night, as the Lions will either clinch a playoff spot or pull into a tie for second place.
