Week 12 began with the Lions looking like the favorites to win the NFC North. Week 12 ended with the Packers looking like the favorites to win the NFC North.
Sure, Green Bay still trails Detroit by two games. However, the Packers already have beaten the Lions once. And they end the season with a rematch at Ford Field.
Which means that the Packers need to pick up only one game over the next four to force a playoff play-in game, possibly to end the regular season on Sunday Night Football.
The Packers face the Texans and Seahawks at home over the next two weeks. Then they play the Bears in Chicago before hosting the Vikings on Christmas Eve.
The Lions travel to New Orleans before hosting the Bears. Next, it’s back-to-back road games against the Giants and the Cowboys.
So, yes, the Packers can easily close the gap by a game over the next four weeks.
“It’s December football, so everything goes up a notch,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday. “Everyone talks about playoff football when everything goes to a different level. Well, it goes to a different level in December. That’s where we’re at and that’s what we’re getting ready for.”
The Lions need to be ready, too. Because the Packers are coming, and if the Lions hope to host a playoff game for the first time since losing to the Packers 23 years ago, they’ll likely need to win a de facto playoff game at home against the Packers.