NFL playoff picture: How the Lions can clinch a playoff berth in Week 13

On By Littum

Thanksgiving is upon us and Detroit Lions have a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs when Sunday ends. The Lions need a lot of help, but considering they currently have the No. 1 seed in the NFC, getting a wild card spot isn’t a huge concern.

The Lions host their annual Thanksgiving game with Chicago Bears coming to town. The Bears sit at 4-7 and likely won’t make the playoffs, but they’ve shown some life in recent weeks. This marks their third straight divisional game, coming off a 30-27 overtime loss to the Vikings last week and a 20-19 loss to the Packers the week before. They were both at Soldier Field, yet they have been competitive in recent weeks.

Detroit is a 9.5 point favorite FanDuel Sportsbook and if they win, they could clinch a playoff spot with six different potential outcomes. We’ll publish the full list below, but if we ignore the tie due to its improbable nature, the Lions have two potential scenarios in which they clinch a playoff spot:

  1. DET win + SF loss + ARI loss + SEA loss + TB loss
  2. DET win + SF loss + ARI loss + SEA loss + WAS loss + ATL loss

The 49ers travel to Buffalo to face the Bills Sunday night football. The 49ers are unlikely to have Brock Purdy available, and given their assortment of other injuries, they are heavy underdogs. The Cardinals are 3.5-point underdogs against the Vikings, which could be an upset special, but Minnesota has gotten the job done. The Seahawks are 1.5 point road favorites against a bad Jets team, but Seattle doesn’t play regular games and that’s a small spread. In the remaining three games, the Bucs are road favorites against the Panthers, the Commanders are home favorites against the Titans, and the Falcons are slight underdogs to the Chargers.

Here is a list of all the Lions’ clinch scenarios that include a draw.

  1. DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss or tie
  2. DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + TB loss or tie
  3. DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
  4. DET win + SF loss or draw + ARI loss or draw + SEA loss + WAS loss + ATL draw
  5. DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
  6. DET win + SF loss or draw + ARI loss + SEA draw + WAS loss + ATL draw