The Detroit Lions got things back on track in Week 15 against the Denver Broncos with a dominant 42-17 victory. It was a much-needed bounce-back performance by Detroit as they had lost two out of three games and weren’t as crisp in the weeks following their Week 9 bye.
They had a close call against the Chicago Bears in Week 11 that could have easily been a loss and defeated the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints in Weeks 10 and 13 by a combined eight points. But, hosting a red-hot Broncos team in Week 15 looked to wake them up and help get them back on track.
Now, Detroit is only a Los Angeles Rams loss on Thursday Night Football to the New Orleans Saints from clinching a playoff spot. While that would be a massive achievement, the team has bigger goals in mind. Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell revealed that while it would be great to clinch a playoff spot, a division title is what he and the team are looking for this season.
NFL News & Rumors: Dan Campbell, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions Updates
“We came into this [year] saying we’ve got to win this division,” Campbell told the media on December 18. “That’s the goal, and that’s where it is. If something happens between now and then, hey that’s all good, but that is our focus.
“We talked about that this morning as a team. That was the focus when we entered it and that is still the focus.”
Winning a division would be a huge accomplishment for the Lions. They have yet to win the NFC North, a division that was created in 20o2. The last time they took home a divisional title was in 1993 when it was the NFC Central and included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers along with the North’s Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
Detroit can accomplish their goal in Week 16 with a victory over the Vikings, who are 7-7 and three games behind in the divisional standings. Campbell and his team know they have their work cut out for themselves to accomplish that goal.
NFL News & Rumors: Dan Campbell, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions Updates
“We’re going to do everything we can to win this division, and there’s nothing that’s going to be easy about it,” Campbell told reporters. “We’ve got to go out to Minneapolis and face the Vikings, who are a very dangerous team, and find a way to win it and get this division.”
If the Lions want to secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC, they will need to win out the remainder of the season. Sandwiched between their matchups against the Vikings is a huge game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, the current No. 2 seed in the conference.
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