The 0-10-1 Detroit Lions Somehow Still Have a Shot at the NFL Playoffs

So you're saying there's a chance ...

Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions looks to hand off the ball. The Lions, winless, somehow still have a shot of making the playoffs.
Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions looks to hand off the ball.
Mike Mulholland/Getty

Thanks to the defense of the Cowboys stepping up in the fourth quarter on Thursday night and intercepting Saints quarterback Taysom Hill three times, Dallas emerged with a 27-17 victory over New Orleans to keep the playoff hopes of the winless Detroit Lions alive.

Seriously.

Dallas beating the Saints on Thursday was just one of more than 40 game results the Lions need over the final six weeks of the NFL season in order for Detroit to sneak into the final postseason spot in the NFC with a record of 6-10-1.

Courtesy of CBS Sports, here’s what needs to happen.

For the Lions, who last qualified for the playoffs in 2016 and haven’t won a postseason game since 1991, to keep playing following the 18th week of the season, they’ll have to go on a six-game winning streak and notch wins over the Vikings, Broncos, Cardinals, Falcons, Seahawks and Packers. Of course, if the Lions lose on Sunday to the Vikings, they will become the first team to officially be eliminated from playoff contention. Playing at home against Minnesota, Detroit is a 7-point underdog to a 5-6 team that has only won two games on the road this season. For now though, Detroit’s playoff chances are alive (but not well).

“After not winning in the first 12 weeks, expecting the Lions to hold up their own end of the bargain and win the final six contests on the schedule is sheer lunacy,” per Lions Wire. “Having the 40 other games play out in the exact manner needed is just as wildly improbable. But the math does check out, technically. Expect that path to come to an end in the early slate of games on Sunday.”

One down, 45 to go.

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