The Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in the final week of the NFL’s regular season. Following Detroit’s controversial loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions are all but certain to be the conference’s three-seed in the playoffs starting next week. However, a Dallas and Philadelphia Eagles loss plus a Detroit win would bump the Lions to the two-seed. In other words, there’s still plenty to play for in Week 18. Below we’ll look at some notes ahead of the regular season finale.
One of the bright spots for the Lions over the last few weeks has been their defense, and now the unit is expecting two of their premier players to return just in time for a postseason run.
CJ Gardner-Johnson has missed the last 14 games but is finally healthy and ready to return to Detroit’s secondary. One of Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ biggest off-season signings suffered a pectoral injury in the Lions’ Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and as a result, missed the majority of his first season in Detroit. The Lions have missed Gardner-Johnson on their defense but have gotten major contributions from Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, and Ifeatu Melifonwu in his absence in recent weeks.
Alim McNeill is also set to return this weekend after suffering a knee sprain in the Lions’ Week 13 win over the New Orleans Saints. The third-year defensive tackle was in the midst of a breakout season before he went down, having already registered a career-high five sacks while also forcing one fumble and totaling 31 tackles. Gardner-Johnson and McNeill’s returns will strengthen a defensive unit that’s trending in the right direction at the right time.
It’s not uncommon to see several teams rest their players in the final week of the NFL’s regular season. Whether they can’t improve their playoff seeding or they’ve already clinched a postseason berth, many teams’ fates have already been decided. As a result, plenty of teams’ starters will have Week 18 off to get some extra rest before the playoffs.
As for the Lions, they won’t be taking that approach. As mentioned above, Detroit still has something to play for — the two-seed. While it’s highly unlikely they clinch it, there’s still a chance, and it’d be silly to punt at the opportunity to potentially host two playoff games and have home-field advantage up until the NFC Championship game. The Lions won’t be stupid, though — if players are dealing with injuries then they won’t force anything, as head coach Dan Campbell already confirmed. After all, there’s a 95.6% they’ll remain the three-seed after this week. The odds aren’t in their favor.
The most likely playoff opponents for the Lions in the Wild Card round are the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers. The outcome of their games this weekend will determine who Detroit will host:
The storylines will be there for either contest, but the Rams would make for the most poetic matchup. Former Lions quarterback and current Rams signal-caller Matthew Stafford would make his much-anticipated return to Detroit to face his former team in their first home playoff game in 30 years.
Current Lions quarterback Jared Goff would get a chance at revenge against his former team and coach who gave up on him just three years ago. And the architect that pulled off that blockbuster trade in 2021, Holmes, came to Detroit from the Rams organization after spending 17 years with the franchise. Ford Field would undoubtedly be full of a wide range of emotions that day.
Yes, the Lions got the short end of the stick in their loss against the Cowboys when they were incorrectly flagged for a penalty on a two-point conversion that would’ve given them a late lead — but it might be the best thing that could’ve happened.
A fiery Campbell spoke with the media a few days after Detroit’s heartbreaking loss, stating that he and his Lions have “controlled fury” as they look to finish the regular season with a victory before gearing up for a postseason run. Detroit knows they should’ve won that game, and Aidan Hutchinson confirmed his coach’s comments when he went on teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s podcast this week and said it will only act as extra motivation.
There’s a chance the Lions get a chance at revenge, too; If Detroit and Dallas advance past the Wild Card round, there’s a possibility that Detroit would travel to AT&T Stadium in the divisional round and get another crack at taking down the Cowboys — when it matters most.
Detroit will look to end the season on a high note and tie the franchise record for regular season wins (12) when they host Minnesota on Sunday.
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The Dallas Cowboys have lost two starting offensive linemen in two days. Earlier on Monday, reports surfaced that offensive guard Rob Jones broke a bone in his neck during Sunday’s practice at the River Ridge Fields in Oxnard, California. Jones is expected to miss two to three months and could leave the team leaning on rookie Tyler Booker to protect quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 1 when they play the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas Cowboys OL Tyler Guyton suffered an injury On Monday, starting left tackle Tyler Guyton exited practice with an injury. “Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton went down during training camp and, after being on the ground for a couple of minutes, gingerly walked to the locker room with some help,” posted Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team. Guyton, 24, was the Cowboys’ 2024 first-round pick out of Oklahoma. He appeared in 15 games last season and started in 11. As of this publishing, it’s unclear how serious the injury is to the six-foot-eight, 322-pound athlete. Per OurLads, Asim Richard is listed as Dallas’ backup LT on the depth chart. The Cowboys drafted Richards in the fifth round in 2023. He’s appeared in 21 games and started one. The injuries are starting to mount for the Cowboys’ offensive line, and that’s a concern for an offense that needs to protect Prescott, coming off a season-ending injury in 2024.
The New York Yankees have been busy making moves as the trade deadline looms, and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon. Fresh off the addition of Ryan McMahon to bolster their lineup, the Yankees are shaking things up once again. This time, it’s not about who they’ve brought in, but rather who they’ve decided to part ways with, and it involves a familiar name who spent just a single season in pinstripes. Jack Curry reported on the trade on X saying, “The Yankees have traded Carlos Carrasco to the Braves for a PTBNL [player to be named later] or cash.” Given that the trade took place a few days before the deadline and just hours before a series opener at home against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays, fans had a lot to say. One fan said, "HAL WASNT LYING! THEYRE EXTREMELY ACTIVE." Another fan added, "CASH CONSIDERATIONS IS ON FIRE THIS TRADE DEADLINE!!!!" "CASHMAN YOU BEAST," said a fan. Another fan commented, "Gonna be the new Jessie Chavez" "Weird trade," said a fan not convinced with the move. Another fan said, "what does this look like? a NURSING HOME?! bffr." The Yankees picked up Carrasco on a minor-league deal back in February, and thanks to early injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, he found himself in the Opening Day rotation. Unfortunately, things didn’t go smoothly. Carrasco struggled in his eight appearances (six starts) with New York, posting a 5.91 ERA and recording 25 strikeouts over 32 innings. He was designated for assignment on May 6 and sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre two days later. He got a brief recall on June 1 but was quickly designated again on June 3, staying in the organization since then. In Triple-A, though, he turned things around, putting up a solid 3.27 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) over 52 1/3 innings. While the Yankees are still in the hunt for veteran pitching, Carrasco wasn’t viewed as a big-league option for them. Instead, he now heads to Atlanta, where he’ll have a real shot at earning a rotation spot. Across his MLB career with the Cleveland Guardians, New York Mets and Yankees, Carrasco has a 4.18 ERA in 332 games (283 starts).
The Boston Red Sox got some bad news in the infield. Rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer has gotten a lot of time at second base and third base. Since Alex Bregman returned, Mayer has gotten most of his action at second base while also filling in as the Red Sox worked Bregman back slowly. Unfortunately, he's on the Injured List, though, due to a wrist sprain. MassLive.com's Christopher Smith shared the lastest update on Mayer from Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Saturday noted that he's "not gonna play soon." "No new updates on Marcelo Mayer's wrist sprain, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said," Smith shared. "'Just waiting for results and see specialists and all that stuff,' Cora added. 'He's not gonna play soon. So have to make sure where we're at and what the course of action is going to be.'" Losing Mayer is tough. Defense has been a question mark for Boston once again this season but Mayer has helped in that area. With Mayer out, Ceddanne Rafaela is expected to get a lot of action at second base. That helps to alleviate the logjam in the outfield, but also removes arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game. Boston isn't at full strength and Cora noting he's "not gonna play soon" certainly doesn't sound positive. Before going down, Mayer was slashing .228/.272/.402 with four homers, 10 RBIs, and eight doubles. Will the Red Sox add another piece ahead of the trade deadline? It absolutely makes sense at this point.
Stuart Skinner’s place with the Edmonton Oilers is perhaps less certain than it’s ever been. The expectation seems to be that he will start the season for the team, but in a recent post, The Athletic columnist Allan Mitchell wrote, “Skinner could be involved in a trade for a goalie upgrade. He would be part of the ask.” Given Skinner’s role in back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs and his team-friendly $2.6 million cap hit, it’s not going to be easy to part with an effective netminder at a low cap hit for a bigger swing. But with new GM Stan Bowman openly evaluating the goaltending depth chart, the Oilers seem willing to explore every option in their all-in pursuit of a Cup. Skinner, 25, has logged 50 playoff games over the past three seasons and proven capable of carrying a heavy load. Yet his playoff inconsistency has left some wondering if the Oilers need a more dependable presence in net. But, it’s not as simple as moving out the backup, keeping Skinner, and getting a clear upgrade. More likely, any team giving Edmonton a true No. 1 is going to want Skinner back as part of the trade. For example, there’s no way the New York Islanders are moving Ilya Sorokin without another plan between the pipes. Jeremy Swayman isn’t coming from Boston unless the Bruins know they have a starter in place for when Swayman is gone. If the Sabres were to trade Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, they’d need a goalie to replace him. This is not to say any of these teams are looking to trade their starters or that serious conversations have been had with the Oilers, but you get the point. There’s risk in moving a young, affordable starter, but if Bowman believes a goaltending upgrade is the missing piece, Skinner’s inclusion could be what seals a blockbuster.