Even with a loss in Week 15, the Detroit Lions remained in the driver's seed to be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and get the coveted first round bye. Week 16 results would have a say in it staying that way, and the Lions took care of their end of business by beating the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
If the Philadelphia Eagles had been able to beat the Washington Commanders on Sunday, they would have stayed in the race for the No. 1 seed. But they were outscored 22-6 in the fourth quarter, and 2-12 after the first quarter, and fell 36-33.
Philadelphia's loss was a big step to simplifying the scenario for the Lions to clinch the No. 1 seed. If the Minnesota Vikings had lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Lions simply would have had to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 to get it done, regardless of what Minnesota did. Well, that didn't happen, as the Vikings won a back-and-forth game 27-24 to remain in a tie (by record) with the Lions at 13-2.
Updated No. 1 seed-clinching scenario for the Detroit Lions
With a Vikings' Week 16 loss now out of the realm of possibility, it's down to this for the Lions to clinch the No. 1 seed in Week 17.
-Win over the 49ers, and Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers
So the Lions will know if they can clinch the No. 1 seed before they take the field against San Francisco next Monday night (Dec. 30). If Minnesota beats the Packers next Sunday afternoon, then the No. 1 seed in the conference and the NFC North title will come down to Vikings-Lions in Week 18 at Ford Field, which would in that case be the easy choice for the league to put on "Sunday Night Football."
Playoff-clinching scenarios (seeds, etc.) can get complex and borderline convoluted this time of the year. Ideally a 14-2 record (if they beat the 49ers in Week 17) would be enough to give the Lions homefield advantage in the playoffs before the regular season finale, but that's not at all assured even as the clinching scenario for next week has become very simple.