The Detroit Lions put an immediate stamp on their status of bookmakers’ favorites for the NFC North with a statement 21-20 win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday – and in doing so made the Minnesota Vikings’ challenge for the North that much more difficult.
Yes, it’s only Week 1, but in a regular season of only 17 games, every matchup is crucial when it comes to the playoff race.
The Lions have been a trendy choice among national analysts to win the NFC North this season despite the Vikings going 13-4 last year, but Vikings fans looking at the Lions’ schedule would likely have had them starting 0-1 given they were visiting the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs on Thursday Night Football.
Yet the football gods smiled kindly on the Motor City in Week 1, with the Chiefs dealing with future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce missing his first game since 2014, star defensive end Chris Jones a holdout, and a receiving corps that had wooden hands.
That’s not to say the Lions won’t be a force this year. They got the job done in a febrile atmosphere, the running game was on point, and the defensive line looked ferocious.
But Jared Goff remains a solid if unspectacular quarterback, the defense coughed up plenty of chances that would have been caught by most other receivers, and the key touchdown was a pick-6 off the woeful hands of Kadarius Toney.
For the Vikings, it could mean that they’re playing catchup soon enough. The Lions start 1-0 and they could conceivably find themselves 6-0 come the end of October.
Next up the Lions have two homes games against the Seahawks and the Falcons, followed by games against three rebuilding teams in Green Bay (at Lambeau), the Carolina Panthers (in Detroit) and the Buccaneers (at Tampa).
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If we were to predict those games you could argue that Seattle and Green Bay have the best chance of snatching a win, but you’d still put the Lions as the favorite in each matchup. It’s not until a visit to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 that you could see the Lions entering the L column.
The Vikings meanwhile have a tougher start, including a Week 2 visit to the Philadelphia Eagles, a trip to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, and a home game against a (presumably improved) Chiefs in the first six weeks – and that’s before the 49ers visiting U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 7.
The Lions and the Vikings don’t meet each other until Weeks 16 and 18, and it’s very possible that those games could prove crucial in the ultimate race for the North.
