For a team carrying Super Bowl aspirations for the past two seasons, the Detroit Lions have stumbled hard in 2025. Entering Week 14 at 7–5, their Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers delivered a crushing blow to their hopes of repeating as NFC North champions.
Detroit now faces a challenging path to the postseason, but their 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys could shift the momentum back in their favor. With that in mind, let’s break down their current playoff scenarios and examine what the Lions must do to keep their season alive.
What Are The Lions’ Playoff Chances?
The Lions entered Thanksgiving with a crucial divisional matchup, and although their offensive performance showed signs of life, they ultimately fell short against the Packers. The loss dropped their playoff odds to just 35% and their chances of winning the NFC North to 6%, according to PFSN’s Playoff Predictor.
There’s still time for Detroit to right the ship, and a narrow loss to a legitimate playoff contender isn’t the end of the world. However, with the NFC shaping up to be one of the league’s strongest conferences this season, the Lions can’t afford many more slips. They’ll need to string together wins down the stretch to stay firmly in the postseason hunt.
That started Thursday against the Cowboys as Detroit was essentially in a must-win situation. A victory has boosted their playoff chances to 49.60%, pulling them back into the thick of the Wild Card race.
3-spot for Jah boy!@Jahmyr_Gibbs1 | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/3bst2xYveE
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 5, 2025
The division picture is even more daunting. The win against Dallas has nudged their NFC North odds up to 9.50%, and their chances of winning the Super Bowl to 3.20%.
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The NFC North has emerged as one of the league’s most competitive divisions this year. The Bears currently sit atop the standings at 9–3, fresh off an impressive win over the Eagles, and have an 86.5% chance to make the postseason. If they handle business against the Packers, Chicago may need only one additional win to secure a playoff berth.
Meanwhile, the Packers are the most likely team to finish first in the division. Despite their own challenging schedule, a 3–2 finish would likely be enough to clinch the NFC North.
For Detroit to have any realistic shot at winning the division, it would almost certainly need to win out, a tall task with remaining games against teams like the Bears, Rams, and Steelers. However, the win against the Cowboys came at the right time, but Detroit could still be required to run the table to make the playoffs.