If the season ended today, the Detroit Lions would not be in the playoffs. Not only that but they're running out of time to flip the script and make it into the postseason, even as a wild card team.
Losing to the Steelers only further hurt Detroit's chances of reaching the playoffs for the third straight year. According to NFL NextGen Stats, the Lions have just a 6% chance of making the postseason, something that fans would not have predicted for this team at the beginning of the season.
Sadly though, that is the reality Lions fans are living in now. At 8-7, the Lions have to win out and hope for a lot of games to fall their way to even have a prayer of getting in, and they only have themselves to blame for being in this spot. Here's what the NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 16's games.
- Seattle Seahawks (12-3, 1st in NFC West)
- Chicago Bears (11-4, 1st in NFC North)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5, 1st in NFC East)
- Carolina Panthers (8-7, 1st in NFC South)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4, 2nd in NFC West)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-4, 3rd in NFC West)
- Green Bay Packers (9-5-1, 2nd in NFC North)
- Detroit Lions (8-7, 3rd in NFC North)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8, 2nd in NFC South)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-8, 4th in NFC North) - Eliminated
- Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1, 2nd in NFC East) - Eliminated
- Atlanta Falcons (6-9, 3rd in NFC South) - Eliminated
- New Orleans Saints (5-10, 4th in NFC South) - Eliminated
- Washington Commanders (4-11, 3rd in NFC East) - Eliminated
- Arizona Cardinals (3-12, 4th in NFC West) - Eliminated
- New York Giants (2-13, 4th in NFC East) - Eliminated)
Lions need a miracle finish after loss sends playoff hopes spiraling
The only teams that have not clinched a playoff spot who are in a playoff position right now are the Panthers and the Packers. That being said, there's only one spot that Detroit can take and that's the Packers', as someone has to win the NFC South and the Lions sadly aren't in that division.
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To make the postseason, Detroit needs to win out and the Packers need to lose out. This would put the Lions at 10-7 while the Packers would be 9-7-1, giving the nod to Detroit. It's a longshot, even with Jordan Love's status for the final two games up in the air, but it's something.
The Lions would also have to beat the red-hot Bears in Week 18 and considering the smackdown the Lions put on Ben Johnson in his return to Detroit earlier this season, it's unlikely he's going to go easy on his former team. There's also a good chance the Bears could still be playing for home field advantage in the final week of the season so there will be plenty on the line for them as well.