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The Detroit Lions moved to 11-1 on the season with their 34-31 Week 14 victory over the Green Bay Packers. That gives them a game-and-a-half lead in the NFC for the one-seed as the playoffs approach. However, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark still believes the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the conference.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are the best team [in the NFC],” Clark told Get Up! host Mike Greenberg on Friday morning. “Without a doubt. I have no problem saying that and I think — and I love the Lions — I think the Lions are a team that's shown that they can win the football game in so many ways … [but] you've lost too many good players to go beat a team that still has all of theirs.”
On the flip side of the Lions' injury losses, Clark also says the Eagles' “continuity” is what gives them the edge in this debate heading into the NFC playoffs a month from now.
“I feel like the continuity the Philadelphia Eagles have built, the way that their top-end football players are playing on both the defensive side of the ball and offensively — Jalen Carter right now is possibly the best interior lineman in all of football, on the back end Quinyon Mitchell has become a star at the cornerback position, Cooper DeJean, a constant playmaker, Nakobe Dean, taking that step up — defensively, this team to me is head and shoulders above what the Detroit Lions are.”
No matter which side of this Eagles-Lions side you fall on with a month to go in the regular season, it seems to be becoming obvious that these two squads are on a collision course that will culminate in an NFC Championship Game showdown.
Eagles and Lions are on a collision course in the NFC playoffs
At 11-1 and 10-2, respectively, the Lions and Eagles are head-and-shoulders above the other NFC division leaders in early December. With Week 14 just having kicked off, the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons are leading the AFC South and the 7-5 Seattle Seahawks are tops in the NFC West.
The only team with a chance to catch and pass the Eagles and Lions for the No. 1 seed in the conference is the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings at this point. And while what the Vikings are doing this season is admirable, especially from a defensive perspective, betting on Sam Darnold in the NFC playoffs seems like a dicey proposition.
That means there is a great chance that the Eagles and Lions will meet in the NFC Championship, so the biggest question is where will that game be?
While Detroit currently has the leg up, Philadelphia has a much easier schedule moving forward.
The Lions finish up with a tough run featuring the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and the aforementioned Vikings. In the East, the Eagles get the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers then finish with a run through their entire weak division. While the Washington Commanders game will be tough, Philly should be double-digit favorites against the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
Whether an Eagles-Lions NFC Championship Game is outside in the blustery Pennsylvania cold or inside in a climate-controlled environment in Michigan could determine who goes to the Super Bowl.
