Right now the Detroit Lions are in a very tight NFC wild‑card race, so their path is basically “win out and get some help.” The exact odds and tiebreaker paths change week to week based on other NFC results.
General requirement
To make the playoffs, the Lions must either:
- Win the NFC North division, or
- Claim one of the three NFC wild‑card spots by having one of the seven best records in the conference.
Current basic path
Local coverage outlines that:
- The Lions effectively need to win all of their remaining games; dropping another game makes their chances very slim.
- If they do win out, they then need at least one of the teams ahead of them in the wild‑card race (Bears, Packers, 49ers, or Seahawks) to lose enough down the stretch so Detroit can either jump them on record or via tiebreakers such as head‑to‑head and conference record.
Key teams to watch
Reports break down several “pass this team” scenarios built around the Lions finishing 3‑0 or 4‑0:
- Chicago Bears: Lions own a head‑to‑head tiebreaker if they beat them again, so one more Bears loss plus a Lions win over Chicago would likely put Detroit ahead.
- Green Bay Packers: Lions need to win out and have Green Bay lose multiple games in their remaining schedule.
- San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks: These scenarios require those teams to skid badly (losing most or all remaining games) while Detroit wins out, because both currently hold a record and/or tiebreaker edge.
Odds snapshot
Recent analyses using advanced win‑probability models give the Lions roughly a coin‑flip chance to reach the postseason (around 40–55%), heavily contingent on the next game or two. Each win pushes their odds sharply higher, while another loss could all but eliminate them.