NFL Playoff Scenarios: Detroit Lions Will Get a Boost from Hated Rival Packers

In what has to be the oddest turn of events this season, the Packers domination will be the best thing to have happened to the Detroit Lions. 

The Lions are still playing for seeding and placement in the playoffs. The celebration of making it into the postseason will have to wait until they beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and beat them they will. 

Under normal circumstances, a Lions/Packers clash featuring these rosters would be a must-see event, guaranteeing hours of entertainment. That won't be the case this weekend. 

The Packers have nothing to play for as they locked up everything that isn't the Super Bowl. The Lions will appreciate that fact as they attempt to build on their first postseason berth since 1999 by claiming the fifth seed. 

Every little bit helps at this time of year and the hated Packers will no doubt gift wrap a game at Lambeau, a usual landmine for the Detroit Lions. 

So far, head coach Mike McCarthy has not hinted at what he intends to do with his roster on Sunday. This is the NFL, and such things are not freely publicized. So we will have to wait until Sunday to get what we can already safely assume. 

The Packers will be packing it in. Kevin Seifert of ESPN writes the same thing in his NFC Blog:

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Packers coach Mike McCarthy hasn't announced his personnel plans, but with the Packers unable to improve their playoff standing, it's hard to imagine that he will play quarterback Aaron Rodgers the entire game. (Former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon tweeted Thursday that he spoke with McCarthy and that people "should expect to see some of" backup Matt Flynn.) 

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There is no reason Aaron Rodgers should step one foot on the field on Sunday, but I will assume the best in the game will run a few drives to keep the rust off headed into the Packers' title defense. 

With nothing to play for, McCarthy would be thinking about just one thing this weekend, and that's keeping his franchise player safe from harm. 

The Lions have the best pass rush in the game and a rivalry game will no doubt have the line fired up to send a message. Rodgers needs to distance himself from such things. 

In a season that has been all Packers, Lions fans are no doubt nauseated from the sight of Green Bay winning. Instead, they should be applauding them. 

All of that winning is going to force Rodgers to the sidelines, giving the Lions a breeze of a final game. 

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