The Green Bay Packers have an opportunity to take control of the NFC North with a victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 14, but the Detroit Lions delivered an important reminder on Thursday Night Football.
Many wrote the Lions off in the NFC North race, and even the playoff picture, after the Packers beat them on Thanksgiving, but their emphatic 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys changes the calculus.
With that victory, the Lions improve to 8-5 and share the same win tally as the Packers. Of course, Green Bay has lost two fewer games and has one tie, but a loss to Chicago would close the gap and make things far more tense in the playoff picture. Here are the updated standings after TNF.
- Chicago Bears (9-3)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
- Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
- Detroit Lions (8-5)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
- Washington Commanders (3-9)
Packers and Bears can't forget about the Lions in the NFC North race
The Lions' win did bring good news. It likely drives the Cowboys out of the playoff race, at least the wild-card picture. They had won three straight, including consecutive victories over last season's Super Bowl teams, and looked on track to disrupt the NFC playoff picture. But the loss sees them fall to 6-6-1 and in serious trouble.
That gives Green Bay one fewer team to worry about. According to The Athletic playoff simulator, the Packers' chances of making the playoffs remain at 91 percent, no change after TNF. However, their odds of winning the NFC North dropped slightly with the Lions remaining in the race.
The simulator gives Detroit only a seven percent chance of winning the division, so it still has work to do and needs some help.
But it's a reminder to the Packers how talented Dan Campbell's team still is, despite securing the season sweep last week. Nobody will want to run into the Lions in the playoffs, should they make it.
Here's where things stand entering the rest of the Week 14 action: The Packers remain in a three-team race for the NFC North title, although the Lions have ground to make up.
In the wild-card picture, we can likely rule out the 10th-placed Cowboys and every team below them. That leaves only the Lions and Carolina Panthers "in the hunt." Carolina sits at 7-6 — the Packers can take a 2.5-game lead this week while the Panthers sit on bye.
For the Packers, the goal is to win the NFC North and secure a home playoff game. They can do that by winning out, but a daunting five-game stretch awaits.