Pride of Detroit
The NFL has expanded to Saturday for Week 16, and it features two games that will have a big impact on the NFC playoff standings. The Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles face off at 5 p.m. ET, and the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers at 8:20 p.m. ET.
For the Detroit Lions, who are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, Saturday’s games will certainly have an impact on their postseason chances.
So let’s look at the impact of each game, and decide who you should be rooting for. But before we do, a reminder of the current NFC playoff standings.
*Eliminated from playoff contention
Division leaders:
Wild Card standings (top three advance)
5. x- Rams: 11-4
6. 49ers: 10-4
7. Packers: 9-4-1
8. Lions: 8-6
9. Panthers: 7-7
10. Cowboys: 6-7-1
x = clinched playoff spot
Okay, now let’s look at the impact of each game on Saturday.
Who to root for: Commanders
In all honesty, this game doesn’t matter much. Looking at the NFC East, the Cowboys’ only path to making the playoffs is by winning the division by winning out and making it at 9-7-1 while the Eagles lose out (9-8). That doesn’t impact the Lions, unless you’d rather have Dallas in the playoffs. There are zero scenarios in which the NFC East sends two teams to the playoffs, so this game is irrelevant for Detroit’s chances to make the playoffs.
However, if you are holding out hopes the Lions still win the division, an Eagles loss would help in terms of seeding. Philadelphia has the tiebreaker against Detroit, so in order for the Lions to finish with a better seed among division winners than Philadelphia, they need to finish with a better overall record.
Who to root for: Packers
Quite simply, if the Packers beat the Bears, the Lions, once again, hold their own playoff fate. If the Lions win out—which would include a Week 18 win over the Bears—it would move Detroit to 11-6 on the season. If the Bears lose this week against the Packers and in the final game against the Lions, their best possible record would be 11-6, as well. And because, in this scenario, the Lions would have the season sweep over the Bears, they’d get in via tiebreaker.
A Packers win would also open up an opportunity for the Lions to go 2-1 in their final three and still make the playoffs. If the Bears lose this game and next week against the 49ers, Detroit would only need to win one of their next two games (Steelers, Vikings) and then beat the Bears to clinch a playoff...
