The kings of the NFC North got to watch two games on Christmas that were of unusual importance for them. The Detroit Lions had a lot of interest in the outcomes of games involving the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
At the end of Week 16, the Lions are still right where they began the weekend. Detroit is the No. 3 seed in the NFC. They did move closer toward moving up, however.
The 11-4 Lions are now in a three-team tie atop the NFC. The Eagles’ close win over the New York Giants, paired with the Dallas Cowboys losing on Christmas Eve in the final minute in Miami, elevated Philly to the top of the NFC East at 11-4.
The 49ers got smoked at home, 33-19, by the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. San Francisco is now 11-4, too.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Detroit loses all tiebreakers with the Eagles and 49ers in 3-team scenarios. The 49ers have a 9-1 conference record, while Detroit and Philadelphia are 7-3. That gives the 49ers the first tiebreaker and currently the top seed.
The Lions and Eagles have the same conference record (7-3) and identical records against common opponents (3-1). That pushes the tiebreaker to the next criteria, strength of victory. The Eagles edge out Detroit, .479 to .436 in the aggregate record of the team’s they’ve beaten. Philadelphia is the two seed because of that.
The Lions can’t catch the 49ers in tiebreakers. So with two weeks left on the NFL calendar and games at Dallas and home against Minnesota, Detroit will need to get ahead of both San Francisco and Philadelphia in the win column to get the top spot. The path to the two seed involves winding up with a better record than the 49ers and a tie or above the Eagles. Winning over Dallas in Week 17 would give the Lions the edge in common opponent record over the Eagles.
The 49ers visit the Commanders (4-12) and host the Rams (8-7). The Eagles play the Cardinals (3-12) before finishing at the Giants (5-10).
The first-round foe for Detroit is very much up in the air. Currently it would be the Rams, whose win elevated them to 8-7. Seattle is also 8-7, a game ahead of Minnesota, Atlanta, Green Bay and New Orleans for the final spot. Minnesota and Green Bay play in Week 17. Atlanta and New Orleans play in Week 18. Still a lot to be determined in the final two wild card positions.