A Detroit Lions fan viewing guide for remainder of Week 14 of the 2025 season
Allen Park — With three November losses, the Detroit Lions dug themselves a hole.
While hopes of a third consecutive playoff appearance lingered, the margin of error shrank as the top-heavy NFC put some distance between itself and the Lions in the win column.
Heading into Week 14, with five games remaining, it became increasingly clear that 10 wins likely wouldn’t be enough to get the job done. That meant the Lions would need to win four of those remaining five contests if they wanted to dance.
Detroit can only worry about what it can control, and the team did that on Thursday, clearing the first hurdle with a 44-30 victory over Dallas. Now, they can sit back and relax this weekend and see if they get some help before beginning a week of preparation for next week’s showdown with the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams.
Here are the remaining matchups on this week’s slate that could potentially impact the Lions.
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m.
Sitting at 9-3, the Seahawks are in good shape, having won two straight after a turnover-filled loss to the Rams on Nov. 16.
Still alive in the division race after Los Angeles stumbled against Carolina a week ago, Seattle can keep the heat on by taking care of business against a lowly Falcons team that’s dropped six of seven.
An unexpected loss would push the Seahawks to the back side of the Wild Card race while giving them a fourth conference loss. That’s a critical head-to-head tie-breaker, drawing them even with Detroit’s NFC record with games remaining against the Rams, 49ers and Panthers.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 1 p.m.
As things currently stand, this matchup barely matters for the Lions.
With one of the easiest remaining schedules, the 7-5 Buccaneers should be able to fend off the pesky Panthers for the NFC South crown. The Lions do hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Buccaneers, but that wouldn’t come into play unless the Lions rally to win the NFC North.
In that scenario, the primary threat to not earning the higher seed is Tampa Bay running the table. It’s not impossible, with games remaining against Miami, Atlanta and a home-and-home with Carolina, but it feels unlikely with how inconsistent the Buccaneers have been this season.
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Unquestionably, this is the most important matchup for the Lions this week.
Detroit’s playoff chances won’t shift much from its current coin flip, regardless of the outcome, but winning the division becomes slightly more realistic if Chicago can steal a win at Lambeau.
Yes, even if that gives the Bears a two-game edge in the win column, they could fall back to the Lions with games remaining against the 49ers and Packers after this week, before hosting Detroit to close the season.
Additionally, a Packers loss trims their Wild Card lead over the Lions to a half-game, with a similarly tough slate ahead, including road games in Chicago and Denver, plus a home tilt with the Ravens, who should still be scrapping for their playoff lives when they come to Lambeau in Week 17.
A Week 4 tie with Dallas continues to haunt Green Bay, wasting the tie-breaker they earned by sweeping Detroit this season.
If the Packers win on Sunday, they’ll grab the division lead from the Bears and go up 1.5 games on the Lions. However, it would bring the Lions within a game of the Bears in the conference standings, increasing the possibility of a win-and-in scenario for both teams in that Week 18 matchup at Soldier Field.
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Presently, the NFC West race is more consequential as a potential postseason destination for the Lions than a seeding concern.
Los Angeles might be a better team, but Seattle has always been one of the league’s toughest places to have to play.
In regards to Sunday, the most important thing is that the Cardinals are competitive, forcing the Rams to play a full 60-minute game, as opposed to being able to pull some key starters from the contest and rest up ahead of next week’s matchup with Detroit. With Arizona down several starters, I wouldn’t suggest getting your hopes up.
Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers, Monday, 8:15 p.m.
It’s been two decades since a team repeated as NFC East champions, but the Eagles are well on the way after the Lions stymied the Cowboys this week.
Like the other division races, they don’t matter much now, with the Lions needing to jump both Green Bay and Chicago to win the North for a third straight year.
A loss would drop the Eagles to 8-5 on the year, but they’d still hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Lions, in the event both teams won their divisions.
Hope hope hope.
My gut is that the most realistic scenario is that we TCOB (hardly a given…) thereby arriving at game 17 with a chance to sneak in with a win. Plus, Packers are likely favored by nearly a TD in both Bears matchups,with those odds effectively leaving the Lions on very thin ice statistically. v. GB. So go packers.