With the Detroit Lions’ win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, suddenly there is hope again in the Motor City. The Lions have some very realistic paths to the playoffs, whereas a loss would’ve likely dealt a death blow to their 2025 season. And once a team gets into the postseason, anything can happen.

Now, the Lions have a weekend to rest up, hopefully get healthier, and prepare for a big game against the Los Angeles Rams next week.

Many of us fans, though, will spend our Sunday watching NFL football and hoping the Lions get as much help to aid their path to the playoffs. To help navigate Sunday’s action, here is your Week 14 Detroit Lions rooting guide, outlining the best possible outcomes for the Lions.

Seahawks (9-3) at Falcons (4-8) — 1 p.m. ET — FOX

While this is an unlikely outcome, a Seahawks loss would drop them just a game ahead of the Lions. Perhaps just as notably, a loss to the Falcons would drop Seattle’s conference record to 5-4, matching Detroit’s current mark. Conference record is the second playoff tiebreaker, behind head-to-head. So with no Lions vs. Seahawks game on the docket this year, conference record is huge for both Detroit and Seattle.

Saints (2-10) at Buccaneers (7-5) — 1 p.m. ET — CBS

It remains relatively unlikely that two NFC South teams make the playoffs, but the Buccaneers (7-5) and Panthers (7-6) are certainly lingering. Whichever team doesn’t win the division will be a moderate threat to Detroit, but the Lions would be in a better position if the Bucs were the Wild Card contender since Detroit has the head-to-head tiebreaker over them.

Bears (9-3) at Packers (8-3-1) — 4:25 p.m. ET — FOX

Either outcome is technically good for the Lions—as long as that team loses again when the Packers and Bears face off again two weeks from now. All Detroit needs is a sweep in the Bears/Packers rivalry to make that losing team catchable. However, the Bears are the preferable team to lose for a few reasons. First, the Lions will have their own opportunity to gain an extra game on the Bears with their Week 18 game. So technically, it would only take one more Bears loss to make they catchable with the Lions winning out. But if the Bears lose twice before Week 18, suddenly the Lions can lose one of their next three games and still catch them. If Chicago gets swept by the Packers—and then loses to the 49ers in Week 17—suddenly the Lions have even more cushion down the stretch (although they’d still have to beat Chicago in Week 18).

But if the Bears win—and sweep—the Packers would be catchable if the Lions win out. Green Bay also has games against the Broncos and Ravens, so if you add one more loss on top of getting swept by the Bears, Green Bay would be catchable if Detroit even finished 3-1.

It should be noted that if your eyes are still on winning the NFC North, a Bears win is actually slightly more preferable because catching the Packers is a bit out of Detroit’s hands, while they have a better chance to catch Chicago because of their Week 18 game. However, I think the primary goal of the Lions should just be to get in.

Rams (9-3) at Cardinals (3-9) — 4:25 p.m. ET — FOX

Who to root for: Cardinals

If the Rams lose this divisional game then lose to the Lions next week, they will be jumped by Detroit in the standings just like that. Doesn’t seem likely, but you never know with divisional games, and this highlights just how close the NFC race is—even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Eagles (8-4) at Chargers (8-4) — Mon. 8:15 p.m. ET — ABC/ESPN

Who to root for: Chargers

In all honesty, this game doesn’t mean much. After putting the Cowboys to sleep on Thursday, Philly is very likely (95% per NYT simulator) to win the NFC East. So an Eagles loss really only matters to Detroit if the Lions somehow win the NFC North, which remains a significant long-shot (7% per NYT simulator). If you want to get into the nitty gritty of playoff tiebreakers, an Eagles win would benefit Detroit’s strength of schedule, but that’s a sixth tiebreaker that isn’t likely to come into play.

If the Lions get all the possible help they can get, here’s what the NFC playoff picture would look like:

Packers: 9-3-149ers: 9-4Eagles: 8-5Buccaneers: 7-6

Wild Card race (top three advance)

5. Bears: 9-4
6. Rams: 9-4
7. Seahawks: 9-4
8. Lions: 8-5
9. Panthers: 7-6
10. Cowboys: 6-6-1

While the Lions will not be able to pull themselves into a Wild Card spot by the end of this week, these outcomes would put them just a game behind five different NFC playoff teams. Detroit would essentially be guaranteed a playoff spot if they win out in the final four games because that would include a win over the Bears—which would make up the one game behind them and also give Detroit the head-to-head tiebreaker. Of course, if the Bears lost another game before that Week 18 showdown, the Lions would have room to go 3-1 down the stretch rather than go undefeated.

But if these outcomes happen, the Lions may not have to rely on the Bears. The Seahawks would likely be the next most-likely team to catch—they only have a modest conference record (primary tiebreaker) and a really tough remaining schedule:

vs. Coltsvs. Ramsat Panthersat 49ers

Of course, the Seahawks are also pretty unlikely to lose this week against the Falcons, so don’t hold out too much hope there.

Using the New York Times NFL Playoff Simulator, if the Lions get all of these outcomes in their favor, their playoff odds—currently set at 44%—jump to 50%. But the NYT model has always been a bit conservative in their Lions playoff odds. For example, NextGenStats already has the Lions’ odds at 54% before any of the Sunday results. DVOA playoff odds have the Lions at 49.3% before their win over the Cowboys. So don’t be surprised if Detroit’s postseason probabilities jump into the 60% range with some beneficial results this week.