Who Should Lions Fans Cheer For On Wild Card Weekend?
Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
The Detroit Lions faithful will get a reminder of their team’s successful season as fans take a week off from living or dying with every snap. As the other teams left are still fighting to continue their season, the Lions get that extra week of rest as they await their first playoff game.
Because of the reseeding that the NFL does, the Lions will face off against the lowest possible seed left. That means Detroit will, depending on the results, play either the Green Bay Packers (No. 7 seed), Washington Commanders (No. 6), Minnesota Vikings (No. 5), or Los Angeles Rams (No. 4).
Let’s rank those teams in the order of who the Lions should want to play most.
1. Washington Commanders
Maybe the Lions shouldn’t want to face the Washington Commanders offense, but they should absolutely want to host the Washington Commanders. The Commanders are giving up over 137 yards per game on the ground, which is something that the Lions could feast on. Not only has Jahmyr Gibbs continued to run wild, but all signs point towards David Montgomery‘s miraculously being back, something that no one expected when he went down Week 15 with an MCL injury.
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JAYDEN DANIELS HAIL MARY! @COMMANDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/BsQ0Z84Rko
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
The caveat here is that, while Jayden Daniels has looked like a rookie at times, he also shows a flair for the dramatic. Remember back in October when Daniels and the Commanders looked to be dead before the rookie QB chucked it deep and walked off the Chicago Bears? You can’t totally discount magic like that. The Commanders are rarely truly out of it with Daniels under center, but the Lions offense should have no issue against their run defense. If they can chew up clock on the ground, there’s no reason why Detroit can’t put things out of reach for Washington.
2. Green Bay Packers
Facing the Green Bay Packers would be great for two different reasons for the Lions. Yes, Green Bay presents a tougher matchup than the Commanders, but if the Packers and Lions are facing off, that means the 14-3 Philadelphia Eagles are out of the playoffs. If the Lions get past the Packers, the NFC Championship Game should be a little easier.
Detroit only beat the Packers by a field goal in their Week 14 matchup, but the Lions have been getting healthier while the Packers have gone in the opposite direction. That game also saw Jared Goff have one of his strongest games of the year, throwing for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Beating a team three times in a season isn’t easy, but the Lions should be up to the task here.
3. Los Angeles Rams
The Lions having Matthew Stafford come into their house, and knock them out of the playoffs before the NFC Championship game is about the worst-case scenario you can dream up. For an NFL franchise still looking for that first Super Bowl, letting Stafford thwart them would be another shot through the heart for a franchise that has had plenty throughout their history.
Existential dread aside, the Lions have already knocked off the Rams once, and LA’s defense has some major holes. The Rams defense is giving up 22.7 points and 352.8 yards per game. For a team that is converting red zone possessions into touchdowns 69.4 percent of the time, the Lions should have no issue racking up points.
4. Minnesota Vikings
It sounds weird, but the worst possible matchup for the Lions is arguably still having to face the Minnesota Vikings a third time. Yes, Sunday’s final score was 31-9, but that game could have been a lot closer than it turned out to be. In four red zone possessions, the Vikings had two turnovers on downs and zero touchdowns. While the pass rush was firing on all cylinders and Amik Robertson was heroic in covering Justin Jefferson, there was at least one pass on each of those drives where Sam Darnold had open players, but missed. Can they count on that twice?
Maybe Ford Field gets to Darnold a second time in three weeks, but maybe he gets over his worst game by beating LA on the road. If so, it’s a different ball game. Remember, the Vikings’ defense really did a good job of making life tough on the Lions in the first half.
On paper, the Lions should still be able to beat any of the four teams, but each one presents a unique challenge. No matter who they play next weekend, the Divisional Round is not going to be a walk in the park.
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