Getty Romeo Okwara celebrates a big play for the Lions.
All the Detroit Lions have needed to do this season is stack some wins together and they could be in much better position to make the playoffs.
Even as it stands now, the Lions have been temporarily revived as it relates to their playoff hopes. Sunday’s win against the Chicago Bears combined with some results from elsewhere has put Detroit in position to be alive for the playoffs the rest of the way in December.
As it stands now, Detroit is a mere one game back in the NFC wild card race. The teams currently ahead of them? The Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Detroit is just a game back of the Vikings, and are a mere two games back of the Buccaneers. The Lions play both teams coming up.
The Lions are a game out of the final wild-card spot.
It’s notable the Lions are still alive considering all that has gone wrong for the team most of this season and the last few weeks specifically. The Lions fired their coach and still managed to pull out a huge win largely due to the spite the current players clearly had for that coach. Could that be notable down the stretch? It’s more than possible that could become the case should the team keep their win streak rolling.
Lions Current Standing Within NFC Playoff Race
Detroit might be alive for the postseason right now, but the work stands to get much tougher the rest of the way. The soft part of Detroit’s schedule is now complete and the Lions now are set to play teams with solid records over the next three weeks. The Lions will tangle with the Packers, Titans, Buccaneers and Vikings to close the season. The combined record of those teams? A solid 30-18. Obviously, this means there will be no easy games at the end and the Lions will earn everything they get if they manage to stay relevant moving forward. It’s probably not likely the Lions should or will be favored in many of those upcoming games the rest of the way.
Even with some of the team’s recent uninspiring defeats on the field, the Lions remain on the periphery of the NFC race for the postseason. They will be battling the likes of the Cardinals, 49ers, Buccaneers and Vikings to make a push for the playoffs in the second half. A win Sunday could look huge for Detroit to climb back into the conversation, and now the biggest challenge for Detroit is to continue to find a way to stack wins against better competition.
Why Lions Defense Holds Key to Playoff Run
Detroit is alive technically, but it’s probably not fair to think of the team as true contenders for the postseason. Barring an epic collapse on Sunday, they wouldn’t have beaten the horrible Bears at all. Detroit’s defense is still very much a problem, as they allowed 30 points to a Chicago team that’s had trouble scoring. Every team the Lions will play the rest of the way has a potent offense capable of putting points on the board. It sure seems as if the Detroit offense will be able to look better given their shift in mindset, so it will be on the defense finding a way to get consistent if the Lions want to win themselves back into the conversation.
For now, the Lions’ playoff dreams are alive again, but the battle remains steep the rest of the way.
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