With the Green Bay Packers’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, everything clicked into place for their game against the Detroit Lions — well, almost.
The Packers. at 13-3. are the No. 1 seed in the NFC, with a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Lions. at 2-13-1, are No. 2 … in the NFL draft standings, sitting half a game behind the 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars for the No. 1 spot.
But the Lions can’t fall below the No. 2 spot, in a draft with two star pass-rushers atop most draft boards. (The Freep’s Dave Birkett broke it all down on Sunday evening.) And the Packers are locked into their playoff seed no matter what ex-Lions star Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams and ex-Michigan star Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do.
[ Trending story: Detroit Lions’ time is right to draft future QB ]
And thus, Sunday’s scheduled game at Ford Field remains at 1 p.m. on Fox while three other matchups were flexed into nationally televised spots: Chiefs/Broncos at 4:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC/ESPN), Cowboys/Eagles at 8:15 p.m. Saturday (ABC/ESPN) and Chargers/Raiders at 8:20 p.m. Sunday (NBC).
CARLOS MONARREZ: Amon-Ra St. Brown looks more and more like the Lions’ next Golden Tate
LIONS GRADES: Nothing but F’s for entire defense, coaches
SHAWN WINDSOR: Shorthanded Lions lack that Dan Campbell competitive fire until too late
As for the Lions, they need a Jags win — against an Indianapolis Colts squad that’ll lock up a playoff spot with a win of its own — for a shot at the No. 1 pick (as well as a loss of their own).
But before we get to the final weekend of the NFL season (and the first Game 17 in league history) head coach Dan Campbell will address the media around 4 p.m. today.
Will quarterback Jared Goff return to action in the finale? What about wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who missed the Lions’ 51-29 loss in Seattle while on the reserve/COVID list. The Lions’ big boss may have updates on that duo, as well as some words of praise for rookie receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Watch the replay at the top of this page, or follow along to hear the latest from Campbell as he lifts the lid on Week 18.
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.