With all that happened on Sunday, the scenario for the Detroit Lions to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs is clear-cut for Week 17. Beat the San Francisco 49ers, and the Minnesota Vikings have to lose to the Green Bay Packers.
So the Lions will know if they can clinch the No. 1 seed before they take the field against the 49ers next Monday night. If Minnesota wins on Sunday, all the clinching scenarios, for the NFC North and the No. 1 seed, will wait until Week 18 when the Vikings visit Ford Field.
There will be a revenge angle for the Lions, after last year's disappointing NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers. During Sunday's postgame locker room celebration, Campbell ended his comments with "Everything we got goes into San Fran. Everything we got, man."
During his press conference on Monday, starting to look ahead to next week, Campbell had a similar sentiment.
"We know what this was last year, we went out there and weren't able to win", Campbell said, "so this will be good. We're looking forward to this."
Dan Campbell confirms Lions' approach to Week 17 vs. 49ers
Later in Monday's presser, Campbell made it clear how the Lions will approach the game against the 49ers when the idea it may not matter in the standings was brought up by Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network.
"I’ll make this easy for everybody, that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking. But that way you don’t have to debate them anymore," Campbell said. "We are bringing everything we’ve got into this game and we are playing, and I don’t care what it looks like and where it’s at. Or who’s this? Who’s that? We’re going out to win this game out on the west coast.”
As the Lions moved toward wrapping up the NFC North late last season, here's what Campbell said about the idea of resting starters if Week 18 didn't matter.
'Yeah, when we’re done with the season, they’re going to rest. I promise you that,” Campbell said. "They’re going to get plenty of time off.”
As it turned out, Week 18 last season was inconsequential and a slim chance for the Lions to improve their playoff seed didn't come to fruition. Campbell did not rest key players in the regular season finale, but how wise that was could've been questioned in hindsight. Tight end Sam LaPorta suffered a knee injury that limited him in the playoffs, and wide receiver Kalif Raymond missed all of last year's playoffs due to a knee injury of his own.
The stakes aren't nearly the same as the NFC Championship Game, with the 49ers winding down a rough season, but the Lions clearly want to get a measure of redemption next Monday night. Even if that wasn't a factor, Campbell has simply confirmed what we already knew, or should've known. The Lions are not letting off the gas, and they won't let off the gas in deference to a game that could be considered "meaningless."