With Saturday’s games in the books, Week 18 closes out with a full slate of Sunday games. Come chat with us in our live thread!
Week 18 will conclude with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings on “Sunday Night Football,” but while you wait, here are the Sunday afternoon games Lions fans should be paying attention to.
For the Lions, things are pretty straightforward. Beat the Vikings and they win the NFC North, secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC, will host each of their playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl , and will get a bye week during the Wild Card round. Lose to the Vikings, and the Lions drop to the No. 5 seed.
In this scenario, the Lions would go on the road in the Wild Card round and face the No. 4 seed in the NFC—which could be three different opponents (Falcons, Bucs, or Rams) depending on Sunday’s outcomes.
1 p.m. ET
While Lions fans will want to be paying attention to all three games, only one of the games is televised in the local Detroit market: Panthers at Falcons at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. If the Falcons can beat the Panthers, they’ll have a shot to win the NFC South and secure the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, but they’ll need the Bucs to lose to the Saints. That game will also be on at 1 p.m. ET, but it will be on FOX—where the Detroit market will have the Bears at Packers .
If the Bucs win, they’ll win the NFC South and eliminate the Falcons from the playoffs. The Bucs would either be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed, depending on what happens in the Rams game.
4:30 p.m. ET
The Rams will host the Seahawks in the afternoon timeslot on FOX, but again, this will be an out-of-market game for the Lions. Locally, the Detroit market will get the Dolphins at Jets on FOX, as well as the Chiefs at Broncos on CBS. While both game could have an impact on the AFC playoff games, it’s basically meaningless for the Lions at this time.
If the Falcons win the South (Falcons win + Bucs lose) then this Rams game is meaningless for the NFC playoff seeding as well, as LA would have the better record.,
If the Bucs win the South (Bucs win) then the Rams game does carry value for Lions fans because the Bucs hold the tiebreaker. Meaning, that if the Bucs win and Rams lose, the Bucs move into the No. 3 spot and push the Rams to the No. 4 seed. However, if the Bucs win and the Rams win, the Rams stay in the No. 3 spot and the Bucs would be in the No. 4 seed.
For more detailed looks at some of the topics discussed above, be sure to check out…
- Every possible 1st-round scenario for the Detroit Lions
- POD Staff Week 18 predictions: Moneyline, spread, and over/under