Detroit Lions poetic playoff opponents: Two teams likely to play in the Wild Card round
With the Detroit Lions playoff bound for the first time in seven years and divisional winners for the first time in 30 years, to say the city is excited about January football is putting in mildly. The last thing left to decide is who the Lions will play in the first round of the playoffs.
Two weeks ago, the Lions clinched the NFC North with a win over the Vikings. This past weekend, we all know what happened in Dallas, which virtually locks in the Lions as the 3 seed in the NFC.
So who are the Lions expected to welcome to Ford Field? Two teams that the Lions and fans would love to beat.
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The NFC number 1 seed is locked up. There's no way the San Francisco 49ers can lose the top spot or home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Lions can do no worse than the 3 seed and could even jump up to the 2 seed, if a few unlikely scenarios play out.
How the Lions can get the 2 seed
If the Lions beat the Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday, they'll need help from two other teams to lock down the 2 seed.
The Dallas Cowboys (11-5) currently hold the 2 seed in the NFC as the leaders of the NFC East. But nipping at their heels are the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6). The scuffling Eagles play the New York Giants (5-11). If both teams win, Dallas keeps the second seed.
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But, if they both lose OR tie AND the Lions win, Detroit jumps into that two spot.
Unfortunately, that's unlikely. The Eagles may be scuffling but Dallas has one of the top offenses (we saw what CeeDee Lamb did.
Who will the Lions play in the playoffs?
Regardless if the Lions miraculously get into that 2 seed, Detroit is likely to play one of two teams.
The Los Angeles Rams or the Green Bay Packers.
Both of those teams are going to bring some incredible storylines – as if there aren't enough already – to Detroit.
The Rams, of course, have former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Meanwhile, Detroit's quarterback is former Rams QB Jared Goff. What a matchup that could be.
The Packers are, of course, the Packers who have dominated the NFC North for years.
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The most likely scenario right now is that the Lions will play the Rams at home. This is assuming that the Rams, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, and Eagles all win. But there are still some outside opportunities of other opponents.
For example, if the Packers lose to the Bears this weekend, they'll miss the playoffs! That's right. For the second straight year, the Packers are playing for their playoff lives in the final week of the season. The Lions ended their season last year. Could the Bears do the same?
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The Saints could even sneak into the playoffs with the right amount of luck!
But the most likely scenario of all is that the Lions will play Stafford and Los Angeles at Ford Field. The Rams play at San Francisco, but both teams are expected to rest their starters as the 49ers have clinched the 1 seed and the Rams have clinched a wild card spot.
Prepare yourself. Wild card weekend, which starts on Saturday, January 13th, will be an exciting one as the Rams are likely to land in Detroit.