At the start of November, the Lions were 1-6, and most people thought that in December, head coach Dan Campbell would be answering questions about his job security, not about his team’s chances of making the playoffs.
But the Lions are now 6-7, and Campbell says they like their playoff chances -- if they win all four of their remaining games, starting on Sunday against the Jets.
“We know we’ve got a chance, but we also know we feel like we need to win out here and it all starts with the Jets,” Campbell said, via the Detroit Free Press. “If we don’t handle our business it’s all for naught.”
Campbell acknowledged that he was glad to see the Seahawks, the team just ahead of the Lions in the NFC playoff picture, lose on Thursday night. But he doesn’t want to spend too much time watching the scoreboard.
“It’s nice to be able to look up there and see that’s a team that’s in front of us that did get a loss, and so it’s hard to ignore that. But also we know, our guys know we have to do our part,” Campbell said.
If the Lions do win out -- against the Jets, Panthers, Bears and Packers -- they’ll finish 10-7, which will probably be good enough to make the playoffs. But even winning out isn’t a guarantee, and one more loss makes it a long shot Detroit will make the playoffs. They need to win out to feel confident about reaching the postseason.
