Sunday 8 p.m. Wild Card update: The Lions will face the Commanders in the Divisional Round after Washington upset the Bucs on Sunday. This marks the first time Detroit and Washington have met in the playoffs since January 2000. Washington has won all three playoff games between these two teams, but this marks the first time the two teams will play a postseason game in Detroit.
Who will the Detroit Lions play in the Divisional Round after their bye week?
The Lions are the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which means they get a bye through the Wild Card Round. Here’s who they will play in the Divisional Round in the 2025 NFL playoffs.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The 2025 NFL Playoffs kick off on Saturday afternoon with the Wild Card Round, but the NFC will not be getting underway until Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, 12 teams will be competing to advance to the Divisional Round where teams on bye await them. The Detroit Lions secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which means they’ll be resting this weekend and getting ready for one of the first round teams.
The Lions’ opponent will not be decided until Sunday evening. The NFL re-seeds playoff teams after each round, and so upsets can change the potential opponents for the next round. The two teams Detroit cannot face before the NFC Championship are the No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles and No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The four teams they could face are the No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, No. 5 Minnesota Vikings, No. 6 Washington Commanders or No. 7 Green Bay Packers.
The Packers travel to face the Eagles in the first NFC playoff game, followed by the Commanders facing the Bucs. The Vikings and Rams will face off on Monday to close out the Wild Card Round. If the Eagles and Bucs both win, the Lions will face the Vikings-Rams winner. If one or both of the Eagles or Bucs are upset, the Lions would face either the Commanders or Packers.
The 2024 season was the best regular season performance in Detroit’s franchise history. Their best previous record was 12-5 a year ago. Before the schedule expanded to 17 games, they went 12-4 in 1991. The Lions have never won a Super Bowl, but won four NFL championships between 1935 and 1957, before the NFL/AFL merger.
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