After the regular-season finale in Detroit, Lions coach Dan Campbell said to Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, “See you in two weeks.”
Less than two weeks later, both teams had said “see ya” to the postseason.
The playoff collapse of three NFC North juggernauts — the Lions, Vikings, and Packers — stands in stark contrast to their regular-season dominance beyond the borders of the black-and-blue division.
As a reader pointed out, and as we’ve confirmed by checking the schedules and counting up the games, the Lions, Vikings, and Packers were a combined 29-4 against teams outside the division in the regular season. In the playoffs, they were 0-3 against non-NFC North teams.
Minnesota and Green Bay each had 10-1 records against non-division rivals. The Lions were 9-2.
Last weekend, Green Bay lost to the Eagles and Minnesota lost to the Rams. On Saturday, the Lions fell to the Commanders.
Their records were fattened up by a schedule rotation that had them play each of the teams of the AFC South and NFC West, with the 17th game coming from one of the teams in the AFC East.
Next year, it won’t be nearly as easy. The NFC North teams play the teams of the AFC North and the NFC East, with the 17th game against the teams of the AFC West — the Lions face the Chiefs, the Vikings play the Chargers, the Packers play the Broncos, and the Bears draw the Raiders.
So their record in the regular season outside the division won’t be as good in 2025. Their record in the postseason against non-NFC North teams, however, can’t be any worse.
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