Playoffs? Is the Detroit Lions season over? Sorting out the chances

Detroit Lions reality check

We aren’t trying to be a Debbie Downer but here’s where things sit right now. The Five Thirty-Eight website has calculated chances for every NFL team to make the playoffs, win their division, earn a first-round bye, and to win the Super Bowl. You can visit them here.

Here are their results for the Lions, 6% chance at the playoffs, 2% chance at the NFC North title, and less than 1% at either of the other two dream scenarios. For a bit of context, you have only a slightly less chance of getting into a car accident- assuming that you aren’t doing anything dumb like texting or enjoying adult beverages while you drive.

Detroit Lions competition

Technically, the Detroit Lions are listed as the current tenth seed, with the top six getting in, according to the NFL website. However, upon further inspection, the Lions are a couple of extra games behind the seventh through ninth seeds, currently.

The teams ahead of them are the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, and Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles have the worst record above us at 5-4, while both of the others have 5-3 records.

The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints currently hold the bye weeks as top seeds in the NFC. The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys have leads in their divisions, with the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings getting in as the five and six seeds.

The Vikings are 6-3, while the Seahawks are 7-2, which is a 2.5 games lead to catch the Vikings.