DETROIT – The Detroit Lions only need to win one more game this season to lock up the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs -- we just don’t know which game that is yet.
Detroit has two games left on the regular-season schedule: on the road against the San Francisco 49ers and at home against the Minnesota Vikings.
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Thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles' loss on Sunday, the Lions only have to go 14-3 to earn a first-round bye and home field advantage through the NFC Championship Game.
But we won’t find out which of their final two games they need to win until Sunday afternoon, when the Packers visit the Vikings.
The Lions could make this a moot point by beating Minnesota in Week 18. But if they have a chance to lock up the top seed before that, then they would earn a valuable two-week break for any players dealing with injuries.
And we all know the Lions have plenty of those.
Here’s the situation:
- If the Packers beat the Vikings next week, the Lions can clinch the division title and the No. 1 seed with a win over the 49ers.
- If the Vikings beat the Packers next week, the 49ers game is meaningless and the Week 18 Vikings-Lions game will decide the division and the No. 1 seed.
Why is that the case? Well, the Lions have already locked up the tiebreakers against both the Eagles and the Vikings. There’s no way Detroit can end up tied with Philadelphia or Minnesota and lose either tiebreaker.
In a Lions-Eagles tiebreaker scenario, the Lions win because of conference record. In a Lions-Vikings tiebreaker scenario, the Lions either win because of head-to-head (if they lose to the 49ers but beat the Vikings) or divisional record (if they beat the 49ers but lose to the Vikings).
Since the Lions are on Monday Night Football next week, they’ll know more than 24 hours before kickoff whether the game in San Francisco even matters.
If the Packers beat the Vikings, then the site of Detroit’s playoff heartbreak a year ago could suddenly become a stage for celebration.
