By the end of the NFL's Week 16, the Detroit Lions had earned a playoff spot.
It wasn't a function of the Lions' weak schedule or their backing in on a technicality because a bunch of other teams lost.
Sure, they had help, but the biggest element in the Lions' playoff run was the three-game winning streak they rolled off against the Vikings, Raiders and Chargers.
And now, with all but one playoff spot spoken for, the Lions enter a divisional game against the Green Bay Packers which appears to mean very little to either team.
The Packers are already guaranteed the top seed in the playoffs, and have all but said they'll be resting most of their key players for the playoff run.
The Lions have a little more at stake. It's not a "win and you're in" situation, that was last week. The Lions won, and now they're in.
But there's more to it than just pride and bragging rights. A win by the Lions this weekend means they don't have to play the New Orleans Saints until the NFC Championship Game at the earliest.
Instead, they'd get the winner of this weekend's Cowboys-Giants contest.
Should they win that game, there is a possibility that they get the San Francisco 49ers in the second round instead of the Packers, which has to be considered an easier matchup, even with the 49ers' stout defense.
Sure, it would involve the Falcons beating the Saints, a reversal of the beatdown on Monday night, but it's possible.
But just for a moment, let's forget about playoff seeding. The Detroit Lions have not left Lambeau Field victorious since Matthew Stafford was a toddler, Barry Sanders was an up-and-coming star and Matt Millen was a linebacker.
Over the last three years, the Detroit Lions have erased the handful of losing streaks that haunted the team.
The 19-game streak that encompassed the 0-16 season in 2008? Gone.
The 26-game road losing streak? Eliminated.
Losing streak at the Metrodome? Taken care of.
Losing streak at Lambeau Field? Still standing, and under assault.
Now, you may have a voice tugging at you that says if the Lions beat the Matt Flynn-led second-string Packers, it doesn't count. And I'll admit that it wouldn't be as special as if they forced Aaron Rodgers into four interceptions and the worst game of his career.
But in the record books, a "W" in Week 17 against the Packers isn't going to have an asterisk next to it saying that Aaron Rodgers didn't play. Historically, nobody is going to talk about it as the game the Packers mailed in to give the Lions the win.
Sure, message boards everywhere will be flooded with Packers fans who (rightfully) claim that the loss didn't matter to them, and that all it means is the Lions are better than the Packers second string.
Fair enough. It also means the Lions have an offseason free from talking about the Lambeau losing streak in the long term, and a more advantageous playoff schedule in the short term.
And if you believe in fate, do you know what else happened in the 1991 season, the last time the Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field?
The Lions finished 12-4, went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys in their first and only playoff win of the last 50 years.
It's not a direct parallel, but a win here would send the Lions to 11-5, and could face them off with the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs again.
Coincidence? Perhaps. But maybe the Lions should put this thing away just in case.
Ben Gordon Josh Howard Jason Terry Jason Kidd Dirk Nowitzki Jerry Stackhouse
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