The stakes of Sunday night’s game between the Vikings and Lions cannot be overstated.
The winner will claim the NFC North title and secure the No. 1 seed in the conference, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The loser, on the other hand, will become the first 14-win wild card team in NFL history and have to start the playoffs on the road, possibly needing to win three straight road games to reach the Super Bowl.
One more thing to consider: Since the game is on Sunday night, the loser is likely to be one of the teams in the Monday night wild card game. This means they’ll have a short week to prepare for the divisional round, while the winner will have 12 or 13 days to get ready for a home game.
Sunday update: The Vikings/Lions game is now officially a Monday night game against the 4th seed Rams.
When the NFL expanded the playoffs in 2022, adding two extra wild card games, “Super Wild Card Weekend” was born, featuring two games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday night.
Although it’s not guaranteed, it makes sense for the Vikings-Lions game, being the final regular season game, to result in the NFC 4-5 matchup being placed in the Monday night slot, as NFL Media’s Peter Schrager explained on Good Morning Football.
“Most likely the loser of this game, just looking at the grid of it all, is probably going to have to play on Monday night next week,” Schrager said. “And they’re going to play a division winner from the NFC West, the Rams, or the NFC South, the Buccaneers or the Falcons.
I can’t stress enough how big this game is. To be able to kick back and enjoy, and relax, and watch the rest of the league beat each other up next week or pack your bags, go on the road and start this long month-long journey.”
“The playoffs start this weekend for these two teams. This is the first round because I really think this is the greatest disadvantage of any team in the playoffs, having to go from being the one seed to all of a sudden being this road team that has to go on this wild journey over the next month.”
This game truly feels like a playoff match. While the loser won’t be eliminated, the winner’s path to the Super Bowl will be much easier, making the stakes feel almost as high as a playoff game.
