{"id":653018,"date":"2026-01-04T10:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/653018\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T10:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:37:24","slug":"detroit-lions-week-18-rooting-guide-best-outcomes-for-draft-position-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/653018\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions Week 18 rooting guide: Best outcomes for draft position"},"content":{"rendered":"

The only thing that practically matters for the Detroit Lions is draft order and their 2026 schedule. And while the best way to improve those things is a Lions loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, I wouldn\u2019t blame you if you\u2019re incapable of rooting for that.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s too much for your taste, I\u2019ve got some other games you can root for pain-free that could improve Detroit\u2019s chances at a better pick and an easier schedule.<\/p>\n

Here is your final 2025-26 Detroit Lions rooting guide.<\/p>\n

Panthers (8-8) at Buccaneers (7-9) \u2014 4:30 p.m. ET \u2014 ABC\/ESPN<\/p>\n

Who to root for: Buccaneers<\/p>\n

The winner of this game moves into the top spot in the NFC South (at least temporarily). If that\u2019s the Bucs, the Lions will jump them in draft order, and the Panthers, at 8-9, will only jump Detroit if the Lions finish 9-8, because Carolina has a much tougher strength of schedule (.522 to Detroit\u2019s .491)<\/p>\n

If the Panthers win, the Lions will stay behind a 7-10 Buccaneers team no matter the outcome of their own game.<\/p>\n

Saints (6-10) at Falcons (7-9) \u2014 1 p.m. ET \u2014 FOX<\/p>\n

The Lions (.491) and Falcons (.497) are close enough in strength of schedule that it could completely flop the order based on Week 18\u2019s results. But the only way the Lions can catch them at all in draft order is if they beat the Saints and the Lions lose to the Bears.<\/p>\n

Packers (9-6-1) at Vikings (8-8) \u2014 1 p.m. ET \u2014 CBS<\/p>\n

If the Vikings win, the Lions will clinch last place in the NFC North, which comes with some serious schedule benefits in 2026<\/a>. They\u2019ll also stay ahead of the Vikings in draft order, as well. A Vikings win will ensure Detroit will pick 17th or higher.<\/p>\n

Cowboys (7-8-1) at Giants (3-13) \u2014 1 p.m. ET \u2014 FOX<\/p>\n

An 8-8-1 Cowboy team would be later in draft order than an 8-9 Lions team.<\/p>\n

Colts (8-8) at Texans (11-5) \u2014 1 p.m. ET \u2014 CBS<\/p>\n

As long as the Lions and Colts finish with the same record, Detroit will have the higher pick due to a massive difference in strength of schedule (IND: .537, DET: .491). As with the Vikings, a Colts win would clinch Detroit a top-17 pick.<\/p>\n

Dolphins (7-9) at Patriots (13-3) \u2014 4:25 p.m. ET \u2014 FOX<\/p>\n

Who to root for: Dolphins<\/p>\n

With the Patriots still playing for the No. 1 seed, this is unlikely, but if Miami plays spoiler and the Lions lose to the Bears, Detroit could jump the Dolphins, but they\u2019d also have to gain an edge in strength of schedule. They currently trail Miami .485 to .491.<\/p>\n

Ravens (8-8) at Steelers (9-7) \u2014 8:20 p.m. ET \u2014 NBC<\/p>\n

This is another win-and-in scenario. If the Ravens win and get into the playoffs, the Lions are likely to pick ahead of the Steelers, who will finish at 9-8 and currently has a tougher strength of schedule (.509) than the Lions (.491). Unless there is a big swing in strength of schedule, this would be another result that would guarantee a top-17 pick for Detroit.<\/p>\n

If the Steelers win, it\u2019s possible the Ravens jump the Lions in draft order if Detroit beats the Bears or if the Ravens catch up in strength of schedule. The Lions currently have an edge .491 to .502.<\/p>\n

If all of these results fall in the Lions\u2019 direction (and Detroit loses to the Bears) , here\u2019s what the draft order would look like: <\/p>\n

NOTE: THIS IS BASED ON CURRENT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, THOSE NUMBERS WILL CHANGE AFTER THIS WEEK\u2019S RESULT AND COULD CHANGE THE TIEBREAKER: <\/p>\n

11. Dolphins: 8-9 (.485)
12. Lions: 8-9 (.491)
13. Falcons (owned by Rams): 8-9 (.496)
14. Panthers: 8-9 (.522)
15. Cowboys: 8-8-1 (.436)
16. Steelers: 9-8 (.506)
17. Vikings: 9-8 (.517)
18. Colts (owned by Jets): 9-8 (.537)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The only thing that practically matters for the Detroit Lions is draft order and their 2026 schedule. And…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[449,448,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-653018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","9":"tag-detroit-lions-draft","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115836396885904520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}