Lions' Odds of Winning NFC North Dip

Lions lead NFC North division by two games.

The Detroit Lions played far from their best game Sunday against the Bears. 

They were plagued by a myriad of issues in the Week 14 contest. Chief among them were a shoddy defensive effort, careless play from quarterback Jared Goff and suspect play-calling from Ben Johnson in the second half. 

Those issues proved to be too much to overcome in the team's 28-13 loss to its NFC North divisional rivals from the Windy City. The loss marked the Lions’ first defeat at the hands of the Bears since the 2021 campaign, Dan Campbell's first season as Detroit's head coach. 

With the loss, the Lions’ odds of winning the NFC North dropped from 95 percent to 91 percent, according to The New York Times. At 9-4, Campbell & Co. hold a two-game lead over the 7-6 Minnesota Vikings for first place in the division. 

Additionally, Detroit currently possesses the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs. 

The two teams ahead of the Campbell-led squad are the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers (10-3) and the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys (10-3). The 49ers, which beat the Seahawks this past week, control the No. 1 seed. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, which defeated the Eagles Sunday night, possess the No. 2 seed.

Lions Seeking to Avoid Being Embarrassed by Sean Payton

The Lions, which haven't lost two games in a row all this season, will look to get back on the right track Saturday night against the Denver Broncos. 

"Here is the most encouraging thing about what happened yesterday. Some of our best players on the team did not play well, and that’s encouraging going into this one (vs. the Broncos), because those are prideful guys and those are our dudes," Campbell expressed. "And believe me, those guys are going to come back – no different than us as coaches. We’re going to be at our best. And, I just know what kind of locker room we’ve got, what kind of players, and we will respond. We will respond.”

The Week 15 matchup with Denver pits Campbell against his former boss with the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton. Campbell and Payton, now the head coach of the Broncos, spent five seasons together in New Orleans (2016-2020).

Kickoff for this primetime matchup is set for 8:15 p.m. at Ford Field.