It's beating a dead horse at this point, but the stakes are high for the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. The winner gets the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and a coveted first-round bye, while the losing team will be the No. 5 seed and open the postseason on the road in the Wild Card Round. It doesn't seem right that a 14-win team will be a wild card, but that's what will happen.
Heading into kickoff Sunday night, we know the playoff teams in the NFC and most of the matchups.
Here's what it looks like:
No. 1 seed: Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings
No. 2 seed: Philadelphia Eagles
No. 3 seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No. 4 seed: Los Angeles Rams
No. 5 seed: Lions or Vikings
No. 6 seed: Washington Commanders
No.7 seed: Green Bay Packers
So the Wild Card matchups that are locked in on both sides in the NFC right now (before Sunday night's result) are these:
No. 2 Eagles vs. No. 7 Packers
No. 3 Buccaneers vs. No. 6 Commanders
The No. 4 seed Rams will face the loser of Sunday night's game, at home.
A look at Detroit Lions possible opponents through the playoffs
If the Lions win Sunday night and earn the No. 1 seed, they would face the lowest remaining seed after the Wild Card Round in the Divisional Round. So the Rams, Vikings (the No. 5 seed in this scenario), Commanders or Packers are possible opponents there. A Divisional Round win would of course set up a home game in the NFC Championship Game as the No. 1 seed, against whoever of the other six NFC playoff teams they may face.
If the Lions lose Sunday night and get the No. 5 seed, they will get a Wild Card Round matchup against the Rams, and it'd be a rematch of the season opener the Lions won 26-20 in overtime. If they beat the Rams, they could travel to take on the Eagles, Buccaneers or the Vikings (who would be the No. 1 seed in that scenario) in the Divisional Round, or they could host the Commanders or the Packers if one of those teams pulled a Wild Card Round upset.
If the Lions were to win again in the Divisional Round as the No. 5 seed, they would only host the Commanders or the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. Anyone else (Eagles, Vikings, Buccaneers) would be a road game for a chance at a trip to the Super Bowl.
There's a lot to be determined between Sunday night and to each round of the playoffs. But heading into what is basically a playoff game on Sunday, there's some sense of how things look for the Lions.
