It's probably much too early in the season to even start thinking about the NFL playoffs, but I was curious about where the Detroit Lions would stand in the NFC if the season ended today. Just two weeks ago they were on top of the NFC along with the Packers, but after two straight losses people have started to panic a bit. There's no reason to jump off the ledge already, though. Despite the two losses, the Lions would still make the playoffs if they began this week.
Here's a look at the NFC playoff picture if the season ended today:
Seeds 1. Green Bay Packers (7-0) 2. San Francisco 49ers (5-1) 3. New Orleans Saints (5-2) 4. New York Giants (4-2) 5. Detroit Lions (5-2) 6. Chicago Bears (4-3) |
Matchups First-round bye: Packers, 49ers Saints vs. Bears Giants vs. Lions |
The four division winners are the Packers, 49ers, Saints and Giants, so they get the top four seeds. The Lions come in as the top wild-card team and are followed by the Bears, which hold the tiebreaker over the Buccaneers and Falcons. Both Tampa Bay and Atlanta are both 4-3 like Chicago, but the Bears have already won games against both of those teams.
Although they haven't played well the last two weeks, the Lions are still in good shape to make the playoffs. They can't afford a loss to the Broncos, though. There are a lot of teams with three losses, and losing their edge over them because of a loss to the Broncos would be awful for the Lions heading into their bye week.