Going into the finals this season, the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks all started with identical 8-8 records. But as we all know, when the teams tie, we need to look at the mediators to see who comes out on top.
As it happens, there is only one spot available to the Wild Card team in the post-season via NFC today. The Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants won their spots. So only the seventh seed is opened and all teams compete for it.
The Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks competed earlier this season, with the emerging Seahawks winning by a 48-45 margin. As a result, the Seahawks held a head-to-head draw. By the time the Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in extra time, it meant the Detroit Lions were out of the knockout stages.
So the match against the Green Bay Packers is now meaningless for them. But even though Seattle got rid of the Lions, they now have to turn around and hope Detroit beat Green Bay so they can sneak into the post-season.
With today’s win over the Seahawks, the Lions were eliminated from the knockout stages. https://t.co/WgmutZhx9T
When the Detroit Lions go, who’s still inside?
As a result, the Seattle Seahawks are still in contention after the season after they beat Mayfield baker and the Los Angeles Rams. However, they are not there yet. That’s because they finished with a 9-8 overall record and a 6-6 conference record. Since the Green Bay Packers also participated in the NFC but did not play the Seahawks this season, their tournament record is considered a mediator.
The Green Bay Packers hold the conference record 6-5. If the Lions beat them, they’d end up 8-9 anyway and trail the Seattle Seahawks. If they win, they’ll finish with an identical 9-8 record to Seattle but hold a 7-5 convention-record advantage versus 6-6 for the Seahawks. Seattle believers are now Detroit fans.
But head coach Dan Campbell will still ask his team to come out and finish the season strong even if they can’t make it to the knockout stages anymore. They are one of the worst performing brands that have had several losing seasons in recent years and have never won a title. super bowl despite being one of the oldest brands.
Let them finish before the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers in their division will be a huge boost to performance in future seasons.
