What a Lions win or loss vs. Cowboys would mean for NFC North, playoff picture originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Detroit Lions will square off against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night in what is a must-win game for head coach Dan Campbell’s squad.
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That’s because the Lions enter Week 14 on the outside looking in, both in terms of the NFC North and wild-card hunts.
Detroit sits in third place in the NFC North going into Thursday night and can’t get any higher this week. Meanwhile, the Lions are in the No. 8 spot in the conference playoff picture, which is one spot shy of the final wild-card position.
With all that in mind, here’s a look at what a win of loss would mean for the Lions in the NFC North and conference playoff picture.
NFC North
1. Chicago Bears (9-3)
2. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)
3. Detroit Lions (7-5)
4. Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
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With a win:
Even with a win, the Lions can’t move up in the NFC North this week.
But they will gain a game on either the Bears or Packers depending on who loses their Week 14 matchup, with the winner taking over first place.
With a loss:
The Lions will remain in third place, but they will also fail to gain any ground on either the Packers or Bears, which will further hurt their hopes of winning the division.
NFC playoff picture
The Lions enter Week 14 in the No. 8 spot in the NFC playoff picture, which is just one spot out of the final wild-card position.
Rank
Team
Record
1
Chicago Bears
9-3
2
Los Angeles Rams
9-3
3
Philadelphia Eagles
8-4
4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7-5
5
Seattle Seahawks
9-3
6
Green Bay Packers
8-3-1
7
San Francisco 49ers
9-4
8
Detroit Lions
7-5
9
Dallas Cowboys
6-5-1
10
Carolina Panthers
7-6
11
Atlanta Falcons
4-8
12
Minnesota Vikings
4-8
13
Arizona Cardinals
3-9
14
Washington Commanders
3-9
15
New Orleans Saints
2-10
16
New York Giants
2-11
With a win:
The Lions will maintain their No. 8 spot and can’t move up but would move one game closer to a playoff spot if the 49ers, Packers and/or Seahawks lose.
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With a loss:
If the Lions lose to the Cowboys on Thursday night, they would go from No. 8 to No. 10.
The Cowboys would jump Detroit because of a superior win percentage, while the Carolina Panthers would move up because of a better conference record. Carolina doesn’t have a game this week and is instead on a bye.
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