For the Detroit Lions, this has been quite the holiday weekend. With a victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, they secured their first division title in thirty years. And just as Christmas Day was coming to an end, there was a chance for them to secure the conference’s top overall seed. Three teams—including the Lions—are now tied for the top record in the conference (11-4) after the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in 15 games.
Now that we know every outcome from Week 16 has been determined, let’s examine the NFC playoff scenario in more detail.
Thanks to their stellar 9-1 conference record, the 49ers currently have the tiebreaker over the Eagles and Lions. Detroit and Philadelphia both have a 7-3 conference record. If either of those teams finishes with a better record than the 49ers, it is the only way they can make up that differential.
The fourth tiebreaker gives Philly a momentary advantage over the Lions because of the power of their win. However, that almost means nothing because the other tiebreakers will change in light of the next two weeks.
Whatever the Eagles do in their remaining two games won’t matter if the Lions win because Detroit would have the advantage over Philly in common games because of their record (owing to a hypothetical victory over the Cowboys).
Could the final two games for the 49ers end in a tie? It doesn’t seem plausible that the 4-11 Commanders will lose next week. Eight of the previous nine games for Washington have ended in losses. But that championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, who will probably be playing for their playoff lives? That might very well be a loss. And how better for the Lions to secure the number one pick than with a little assistance from Matthew Stafford?
