Are the Detroit Lions Legit Playoff Contenders?

If the 2014 NFL season ended today, the Detroit Lions would make the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Given the remaining schedules of both the Lions and the teams jockeying with them for playoff positioning, conditions are quite favorable for Detroit to qualify for just the second time this century. 

Getting into the dance would be a nice accomplishment, but getting the prettiest girl at the dance to give you her hand and winning a postseason game or two are where the real goals lie. Are these Lions really good enough to seize the franchise's second playoff win in the Super Bowl era?

Before the cart gets in front of the horse, Detroit must still navigate the track to hit the finish line in the top six in the NFC. There are two different paths here:

• Win the NFC North
• Secure a wild-card berth

Detroit controls its own destiny on both fronts. Win all four games and the Lions win the NFC North.

Opponent	Record	Last four games
Tampa Bay	2-10	1-3
Minnesota	5-7	2-2
at Chicago	5-7	2-2
at Green Bay	9-3	4-0

The finale in Green Bay shapes up as being for the division crown. Both the Lions and Green Bay Packers will be favored to win their three respective games leading into the Dec. 28 date in Wisconsin. 

Opponent	Record	Last four games
Atlanta	5-7	3-1
at Buffalo	7-5	2-2
at Tampa Bay	2-10	1-3
Detroit	8-4	2-2

Detroit won the first meeting 19-7, smothering the fire that is Aaron Rodgers and the smoldering Packers offense. That Week 3 tilt marks the last time Green Bay didn't score at least 23 points. 

Will the Lions win on the opposite side of Lake Michigan for the first time since 1991? We'll have to wait until after Christmas to open that present. If things go as presumed, breaking that treacherous string would secure Detroit's first-ever NFC North championship.

Should the Lions come up short in the North, the wild-card prospects are still riding strong as teams enter the final turn on the NFL season. There are myriad scenarios, with the wild-card contenders all having four remaining games. Here's where they stand after Week 13:

Team	W-L	Division, Record	Conf. Record	Strength of Schedule
Arizona	9-3	West, 2-1	7-2	.523
Green Bay	9-3	North, 4-1	6-3	.473
Philadelphia	9-3	East, 3-0	5-3	.436
Atlanta	5-7	South, 4-0	5-4	.424
Seattle	8-4	West, 2-1	6-2	.496
Detroit	8-4	North, 3-0	6-2	.488
Dallas	8-4	East, 2-2	5-4	.402
San Francisco	7-5	West, 1-3	6-4	.515

Obviously, four of those will win division titles. That leaves four teams competing for two spots, as no NFC South team is realistically in the wild-card race. 

The Lions are in very good shape to qualify for the postseason even if they lose the finale in Green Bay. In fact, if they enter that game with 11 wins (by winning the next three) it's hard to see them not making it no matter what happens in Week 17.

"

The Lions are in great shape to make the playoffs. Have by far the easiest remaining schedule of any NFC contender.

— Pete Damilatis (@PFF_Pete) November 27, 2014"

The West teams all play one another once, and the resurgent St. Louis Rams will be no easy win for the San Francisco 49ers or Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals, who have lost two in a row with backup quarterback Drew Stanton struggling, must travel to St. Louis for the Thursday night game in Week 15 after hosting the 7-5 Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. 

Terry Blount of ESPN.com noted the strength of schedule and how it favors Detroit: 

"

Here’s is the strength of schedule for the four NFC teams in wild-card contenders at the moment: 

Seahawks (8-4) -- .630. 
49ers (7-5) -- .556. 
Dallas Cowboys (8-4) -- .522. 
Detroit Lions (8-4) -- .422. 

The remaining four opponents for Seattle are the Philadelphia Eagles (9-3), the 49ers (7-5), the Cardinals (9-2) and the St. Louis Rams (4-7).

"

The Philadelphia Eagles have games with Dallas and Seattle, while the Cowboys play three of their final four on the road—and the home game is with powerful Indianapolis Colts. 

In short, Detroit is the most likely to make it to 11 wins. There's a decent chance it winds up being the only wild-card team to get to 11. 

The picture gets more complicated if the Lions unexpectedly drop two of the final four games and wind up 10-6. Because the division record is the first tiebreaker, the best possible game to lose would be this Sunday's battle with the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As any Lions fan from last season can tell you, a two-win Tampa Bay team late in the season is indeed a dangerous foe.

"

How's this for a crazy scenario: #Lions either beat GB and take the No. 1 seed or lose and miss the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/UIbhnBJQec

— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) December 1, 2014"

Should Detroit finish with just 10, the best path involves having the Eagles and Cardinals winning their divisions, with both beating Seattle along the way. The worst scenario would be tying with just the Cardinals, as Arizona holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. Detroit would fare much better in multiple-team tiebreakers, particularly if Dallas is involved. 

Getting to the playoffs is only the first step. This team should aspire to higher goals than simply making it to the dance. 

In order to last more than one game in the playoffs, the Lions will have to play much better than they did in losses to Arizona and the New England Patriots. While the Cardinals game was close, Detroit's offense never really challenged Arizona's tough defense. 

The New England game the following week highlighted just how far these Lions still have to progress in order to be taken seriously as contenders. The defense joined the offense as being overmatched by the sharp, seasoned Patriots:

"

Dropped balls in the endzone, wide open blown coverage, and sliding short on fourth down. Patriots laughing their way to win over the Lions.

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 23, 2014"

The Detroit team on display that afternoon stands no chance of beating anyone, not even the NFC South champion who will "earn" the No. 4 seed by winning that terrible division. 

Fortunately, the Lions have shown they can play better against playoff-caliber opponents. Detroit has wins over both the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints as well as a solid Miami Dolphins team. Then there's the utter domination of the Packers, a team they've beaten by a combined score of 59-17 in the last two meetings. 

Building confidence and momentum is critical for the inexperienced Lions. If this team wins out, there is no reason to think these Lions aren't capable of advancing to at least the NFC Championship Game. Strange things do happen in the postseason.

Importing players with deep playoff runs in their past like Golden Tate and James Ihedigbo will certainly help. Head coach Jim Caldwell and both his coordinators own Super Bowl rings from prior stops too.

That stands in stark contrast to when the Lions last made the playoffs following the 2011 season. It was the first taste of the postseason for almost every Detroit player and coach, and it showed in the 45-28 loss to New Orleans. 

It's hard to predict the final fate of these Detroit Lions even after they've played 12 games. The potential is in place for a rare playoff win...or two. Potential also remains for yet another soul-crushing collapse and squandering another strong start. 

I think the former is a lot more likely than the latter. I say here the Lions make the playoffs and ride the strong defense to just the second playoff win since the United States numbered 48.