The Detroit Lions are in an exciting and promising situation with the future of their team. For the Lions to be set up perfectly, many scenarios would need to occur, but what all needs to happen? Let’s break down every scenario the Lions need to happen in order for them to have the perfect future.
What Needs To Happen For The Lions To Make The Playoffs?
While I already broke down what needs to happen for the Lions to make the playoffs and the possibility of them making it, it’s important to go over it again and why it helps their future. The biggest help to getting to the playoffs for the Lions is by winning out, but the logistics of that are questionable. The Lions have a tough two games in Weeks 14 and 15, with a home game against the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings and an away game against the 7-5 New York Jets. The Lions are currently favorites against the Vikings and have a good chance to win that game, if they somehow win both of them, then the playoffs are extremely realistic for the Lions.
Following those two games, they have a much easier stretch of games, going on the road to play the Carolina Panthers, coming back home to play the Chicago Bears, then finally going to Lambeau Field to play the Greenbay Packers. The biggest scare of all the games might be the Packers because no matter how bad they are it is always hard to win in Lambeau. Winning out would almost ensure a playoff spot, but if they want some security, they would need the Giants and Seahawks to lose a majority of their upcoming games.
The reason winning games is so important for this team’s future is because even though they might not have every piece they need and it may seem smart to get a higher pick, morale is the biggest piece into building a championship team. The more you win, the more motivated players are to want to play for your team and will give it their all, knowing the team is moving in the right direction. Winning will also attract more free agents, as they will see that the Lions have a good coaching staff, an up-and-coming team, and enough money to bring in more pieces to ultimately win more games.
What Needs To Happen To Set Up The Lions’ Offseason Perfectly?
The Lions already have a promising offseason, due to how much money they will end up having in free agency. The best thing that can happen for the Lions to set up their offseason is for multiple things to happen to improve their pick from the Rams. It’s always surprising for the Lions to be picking high and it’s not their own pick, but the Rams completely fell off this year and their injuries have put the Lions in a position to potentially get a defensive staple in Will Anderson or Jalen Carter.
The first thing the Lions would need to happen for that pick to improve would be the Rams losing out. Baker Mayfield did not make it look promising for the Rams to lose out, but their schedule is not favorable and it’s extremely realistic for them to lose out. The Lions also need the Bears to win at least one more game, which will be tough due to their schedule being so strong, but it’s possible they pull out a win against the Vikings in Week 18 if they rest their starters. The final thing they would need to happen is for the Broncos to beat the Rams on Christmas, which would put the Lions at second in the draft behind the Houston Texans.
