Detroit Lions playoff scenarios: How they can clinch in Week 14

A look at the 10 different ways the Lions can clinch a playoff spot in Week 14.

The Detroit Lions just missed out on clinching a playoff spot on Thanksgiving weekend. However, as the NFL schedule flips over to Week 14, the Lions can punch their ticket to the postseason as early as Thursday night.

In total, there are 10 different scenarios that could happen in order for the Lions to clinch a playoff spot, but the easiest and simplest one is: beat or tie the Green Bay Packers on “Thursday Night Football.”

Here’s a look at all 10 scenarios, as offered by the NFL.

1. Lions beat/tie Packers
2. Falcons lose/tie to Vikings + Seahawks/Cardinals tie
3. Falcons lose/tie to Vikings + Cardinals lose to Seahawks + Rams lose/tie to Bills
4. Falcons lose/tie to Vikings + Rams lose/tie to Bills + Eagles beat Panthers
5. Falcons lose/tie to Vikings + Seahawks lose to Cardinals + Eagles beat Panthers
6. Falcons lose/tie to Vikings + Cardinals lose to Seahawks + Eagles beat Panthers + Lions clinch at least tie in strength of victory over Eagles
7. Buccaneers lose/tie to Raiders + Seahawks/Cardinals tie
8. Buccaneers lose/tie to Raiders + Cardinals lose to Seahawks + Rams lose/tie to Bills
9. Buccaneers lose/tie to Raiders + Rams lose/tie to Bills + Eagles beat Panthers
10. Buccaneers lose/tie to Raiders + Seahawks lose to Cardinals + Eagles beat Panthers

As you can see above, some of the playoff scenarios above are via results that are actually harmful to the Lions. For example, a Falcons loss to the Vikings may help Detroit clinch a playoff spot early, but a Vikings win hurts their chances at clinching the NFC North. Winning the division is obviously the priority, since clinching a playoff spot is just a formality at this point.

So, if the Lions just take care of business on Thursday, we can ignore the other nine scenarios, and focus on what helps the Lions most to clinch the division and earn the No. 1 seed. And the keys for those are very simple. Root for:

• The Vikings to lose
• The Eagles to lose
• The Packers to lose

That’s essentially all that matters.