The Detroit Lions can clinch their first postseason berth since 2016 if the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.” Even if that happens, the Lions’ playoff chances are now between 99% and 100%. At this point, it’s just a formality.
But Lions coach Dan Campbell is unconcerned whether it happens this Monday or next. His concentration remains unchanged.
“We came into this (year) saying we’ve got to win this division,” Campbell told reporters. “That’s the goal, and it’s there. If something happens between now and then, that’s OK, but that’s our main emphasis. We discussed it as a group this morning. That was our main goal when we first arrived, and it remains so today still the focus.”
The Lions may achieve that goal by defeating the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday in Minneapolis… or by defeating the Cowboys the next week in Dallas… or by defeating the Vikings again in the regular season finale at home… or by defeating the Vikings in any of their three remaining games. If that happens, the Lions will have won a divisional title for the first time since 1993, when the NFC North didn’t even exist.
Despite the fact that the Lions’ chances of winning the division are far above 90%, Campbell isn’t taking the assignment lightly.
“We’re going to do everything we can to win this division, and there’s nothing that’s going to be easy about it,” Campbell said in a statement. “We’ve got to go out to Minneapolis and face the Vikings, who are a very dangerous team, and find a way to win it and get this division.”
The Vikings are the only club that can stop the Lions from winning the division, but their season has been filled with ups and downs. They started 1-4, and as they began to turn things around, starting quarterback Kirk Cousins was gone for the season with an Achilles injury in Week 8. Minnesota has played.500 ball since then, but has lost three of their last four games.
The Vikings will start Nick Mullens at quarterback this Sunday. Last week, the veteran quarterback earned his first Vikings start, a close overtime loss to the Bengals. While Mullens had a highly productive game, completing 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns, his two interceptions in scoring position were extremely costly.
The Lions, on the other hand, are looking inward this week. They are not hearing the rumblings of seeding and first-round byes because they are not listening to the outside chatter when the criticism is present.
“For us, that’s all you’ve got to worry about,” Campbell added. “We’ll clean up what we can.” Today, we cleaned up after the Denver game with the team. This is where we need to improve, where we did well, and where we will continue to go. We’ll put out a great game plan for (the Vikings), and we’ll know exactly what we need to do against Minnesota.”
