Where Detroit Lions Stand in Playoff Picture

Entering the bye week, the Lions find themselves in prime position to qualify for the postseason in the NFC.

In Week 7, Dan Campbell's squad avoided losing two straight games for the first time since the 2022 season, defeating Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, 24-9. Next up for the Lions will be an NFC North divisional matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. 

“5-2 is a good spot to be,” Detroit signal-caller Jared Goff said after Monday night’s victory over Tampa Bay. “Coming off that, I think we got Minnesota first. So good division game – am I wrong? I think I’m right. So yeah, we’ll come back rested and ready to go for that one. 

“There was a handful of things in this game that we got to clean up and work on and find a way to improve on. Certainly, offensively, I don’t think tonight was up to our standards. Now, that’s not going to take away from the enjoyment of the win, but at the same time, there’s a lot of things to fix right now that we need to be on top of, and we will be. We’ll be fine.”

With the win over the Buccaneers, Detroit sits at 5-2 and in second place in the NFC North behind the 4-1-1 Green Bay Packers. The Matt LaFleur-led Packers, which beat the Lions in Week 1 at Lambeau Field, also own the best record in the NFC by percentage points (.750).

Meanwhile, Campbell & Co. are one of six NFC teams with a 5-2 mark (.714), along with the Buccaneers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Seattle Seahawks and the L.A. Rams. However, the Lions presently possess the top wild-card spot and the No. 5 seed in the conference as a result of holding a better record against NFC opponents than both the Seahawks (2-2) and the Rams (0-2).

While the NFC is jam-packed with five-win teams, only three AFC teams, in stark contrast, have recorded five wins up to this point. Additionally, only four teams in the NFC have losing records while eight AFC teams find themselves below .500.

These above stats are indicative of the fact that the NFC has outperformed the AFC through the 2025 season's first seven weeks. Furthermore, NFC teams have gone 25-13 against AFC squads this season.

Let's take a look at the NFC playoff standings headed into Week 8 (top seven teams make the playoffs):

1. Green Bay Packers (4-1-1)

2. San Francisco 49ers (5-2)

3. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2)

5. Detroit Lions (5-2)

6. Seattle Seahawks (5-2)

7. Los Angeles Rams (5-2)

8. Chicago Bears (4-2)

9. Carolina Panthers (4-3)

10. Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1)

11. Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

12. Minnesota Vikings (3-3)

13. Washington Commanders (3-4)

14. Arizona Cardinals (2-5)

15. New York Giants (2-5)

16. New Orleans Saints (1-6)