Week 15 of the 2022 NFL regular season starts tonight, and if you happen to be a fan of the Detroit Lions, this week's edition of Thursday Night Football is HUGE. As it stands, the Lions are 6-7, and though they are certainly in the playoff hunt, it all starts with them handling their own business and winning out. As we previously wrote, if the Lions win their remaining four games, they have a 90% chance of making the playoffs. In other words, they still do not control their own destiny, and they will need help somewhere along the way. That “somewhere” could begin tonight.
Why is Thursday Night Football HUGE for the Detroit Lions?
Tonight's Thursday Night Football matchup features the Seattle Seahawks hosting the San Fransisco 49ers in a game that could end up meaning everything for the Lions.
You see, the Seahawks are currently 7-6, which means they are a game ahead of the Lions in the playoff race. But there is a little problem. Since Seattle beat the Lions earlier in the season, they have the tiebreaker. In other words, for all technical purposes, the Lions are really two games behind the Seahawks.
What do the Detroit Lions need to do to get into the Playoffs?
As you can see below, the Lions currently trail the Cowboys, Commanders, Giants, and Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card race. With the top three teams from that group earning a wild card spot, that means the Lions will have to leapfrog at least two of those teams to get in. Obviously, they cannot mathematically catch the Cowboys (because of a tiebreaker), so they will have to jump two of the remaining teams above them in the standings (Commanders, Giants, and Seahawks)
- Dallas Cowboys (10-3)
- Washington Commanders (7-5-1)
- New York Giants (7-5-1)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-6)
- Detroit Lions (6-7)
The Lions would have owned the tiebreaker with both the Commanders and the Giants (they still technically do if they were to tie), but with those teams tying in their most previous matchup against each other, a tiebreaker is not likely to come into play.
Obviously, it all begins with the Lions taking care of their own business, but if the Seahawks were to lose on Thursday Night Football, the Lions' playoff odds would increase.
In other words, if you are a Lions fan, you should be rooting hard for the 49ers to take down the Seahawks!
