NFC North tiebreaker scenarios explained: Lions, Vikings, Packers

When the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers face off on Thursday Night Football this week, there’s more at stake than just another tally in the win column.

Three of the four teams in the NFC North (look away, Chicago Bears fans) are in a tight race for the division title. The Lions lead after Week 13, but the Minnesota Vikings are just one game behind them. The Packers are two games behind Detroit and one behind Minnesota.

In such a close race, there is a real chance that there will be a tiebreaker in the division, making any matchup against a division opponent that much more important.

All three competitors have already played a game against each division opponent this year. Each team has three more division games on its schedule – one against each of the other three teams in the NFC North.

With five weeks left to play, the top contenders’ three division games are crucial. A win in a game against an NFC North opponent not only improves a team’s overall record; It’s also an important step toward winning a potential tiebreaker for the division title.

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NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE:Eagles and Lions are among the teams that can secure something in Week 14

NFC North tiebreaker

Detroit Lions

With three division games remaining in the final five-week matchup, the Lions are in prime position to win the NFC North.

Detroit is the only team with a perfect record against NFC North opponents entering Week 14. With a record of 11:1, they are also sole first in the division.

For the Lions, a win against the Packers on Thursday would secure a place in the playoffs and the direct tiebreaker against Green Bay. They would still have the edge to win the NFC North, but still face significant challenges with games against the Bills, Bears, 49ers and Vikings rounding out their remaining schedule.

A loss to the Packers would mean Detroit would have to wait until the results of some other games come in on Sunday to find out whether it has secured a playoff spot in Week 14.

This would also mean a split of the head-to-head tiebreaker with Green Bay, although the Lions would also be ahead in the next tiebreaker – a division record – with just one loss to an NFC North opponent. The Packers, meanwhile, have suffered two losses: their first game against Detroit and their first game against Minnesota.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are 10-2 in second place and could clinch a playoff spot this week. The easiest way for Minnesota to clinch a spot is with a win and a loss for the Cardinals (against the Seahawks) and Rams (against the Bills).

For the Vikings to win their division, they need to take care of business down the road. They have the advantage of an easier non-divisional schedule compared to Detroit (against the Falcons in Week 14 and at the Seahawks in Week 16), but division wins will be even more important.

Minnesota has already lost its first game to Detroit, so it doesn’t have full control of its own destiny. The Vikings need to keep winning while the Lions miss a few games to worsen their overall and/or divisional record.

If the Lions and Vikings have the same record in Week 18, the regular-season finale will be a winner-take-all affair.

However, if the Vikings are still one game behind the Lions, they will have to win the last game of the season to stay ahead in the head-to-head matchup And This means they have a better division record to win the title.

If the Vikings are one game behind the Lions this week and can clinch a division record with just a win, the Week 18 result would have no bearing on the NFC North title race.

After head-to-head record and division record, the next tiebreaker is record against common opponents. Since Minnesota lost in Week 8 to the Rams, a team the Lions beat in Week 1, the Vikings would finish second even if they were tied in overall and divisional standings.

In summary, Minnesota needs to lose at least one more game to Detroit in order for the Vikings to take control of their destiny for the NFC North title.

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Green Bay Packers

The Packers are at a disadvantage when it comes to the NFC North title. Not only do they have the worst overall record, but they have already lost head-to-head games with the Lions and Vikings, which has (obviously) hurt their divisional record.

It’ll take a lot for Green Bay to make its way into the NFC North, but it’s not impossible. A win over the Lions on Thursday would greatly increase their chances of clinching the division title as it would split their head-to-head matchups And ruining Detroit’s perfect divisional record.

From there, the Packers would need a win over the Vikings to tie themselves in the head-to-head tiebreaker. If they achieve both, they will also need a better division record than both teams to win the division.

Chaos results

If all three teams have the same overall and divisional record, the next tiebreaker is the record against a common opponent. The obvious common opponent for each team is the Bears, but all three teams may go undefeated or split these matchups.

In this case, the Vikings would be eliminated from the title race due to their loss to the Rams, a team that both the Lions and Packers have already defeated.

In this scenario, the only way the Packers could reach an overall and divisional record on par with the Lions (and Vikings) would be with a loss to the Seahawks (Week 15) or the Saints (Week 16) and a Lions loss to the Bills (Week 15). ) or 49ers (Week 17).

The 49ers, who Green Bay has already defeated, would be a common opponent of the Lions. A Detroit loss to San Francisco would give the Packers the title.

If all of this were to happen, but the Lions beat the 49ers instead of the Bills, there would be no difference in overall record, division record, combined opponent record or conference record between them and the Packers. In this scenario, the fifth tiebreaker would be triggered and the NFC North title would depend on the strength of the win.

OTHER CLOSE DIVISION RACES:NFC West Division Rankings, Projected Playoff Teams

NFC North standings

Lions 11-1
Vikings 10-2
Packers 9-3
Bears 4-8

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NFC North tiebreaker scenarios explained: Lions, Vikings, Packers

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