The NFC North race tightened over the weekend, and the Detroit Lions have moved a little closer to sneaking into the postseason.
Green Bay’s 28–21 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday reshuffled the top of the division, pushing the Packers back into first place and knocking Chicago from the conference’s No. 1 seed all the way down to No. 7. That slide actually works in Detroit’s favor.
Since Detroit beat Chicago back in Week 2, the Lions currently own the head-to-head edge. The divisional rematch comes in Week 18, and because of the Bears’ latest loss, the Lions can now leapfrog Chicago in the playoff standings simply by winning out — regardless of what the Bears do before that final meeting.
Next week, Chicago heads to Cleveland, while the Lions travel west for a tough matchup against the NFC-leading Los Angeles Rams. A Lions victory paired with a Bears defeat would put Detroit back inside the playoff picture.
Lions supporters won’t hesitate to root for Chicago to stumble — especially with the Bears being coached by Ben Johnson, Detroit’s former offensive coordinator. Every Bears loss gives Detroit some breathing room, and overtaking Chicago remains Detroit’s clearest path to a Wild Card berth.
Detroit’s Thursday night win over Dallas also carried major weight. Not only did it give the Lions vital separation from the rest of the NFC’s playoff hopefuls, but it also secured a head-to-head tiebreaker should the teams finish with identical records.
Catching San Francisco is still possible but significantly more complicated. The 49ers sit at 8–2 against NFC opponents, while Detroit is 5–4 in conference play — a margin the Lions can erase only by sweeping their remaining NFC opponents while San Francisco drops upcoming games to Chicago and Seattle.
The division race isn’t officially over either, though being swept by Green Bay means the Lions must finish two games better than the Packers over the final month to win the North.
A victory over the Rams on Sunday would be a major boost: it would give Detroit the head-to-head advantage and trim the gap between the teams to a single game with three weeks remaining.
Below is the current NFC playoff picture heading into Week 15:
Division Leaders
1. Los Angeles Rams (10–3)
2. Green Bay Packers (9–3–1)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (8–4) — play the Chargers on Monday night
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7–6)
Wild Card Teams
5. Seattle Seahawks (10–3)
6. San Francisco 49ers (9–4)
7. Chicago Bears (9–4)
In the Hunt
8. Detroit Lions (8–5)
9. Carolina Panthers (7–6)
10. Dallas Cowboys (6–6–1)
