Three and Out: Strange rooting interests, Mahogany wows and load management might need to be on the menu
Here are three observations after a second viewing and a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
Grin and bear it
Things are about to get weird.
OK, I concede it doesn’t have to be that way, but with all due respect to Rasheed Wallace’s mantra “If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right,” the Lions could really use a stress-free week before the start of the postseason.
Hear me out. With the Philadelphia Eagles running into some injury misfortune on Sunday — losing starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and backup Kenny Pickett to injury in a last-second defeat to the Washington Commanders — the Lions gained an incredibly valuable buffer with one of two challengers for the top seed in the NFC.
The other half of that equation, the Minnesota Vikings, did the Lions no such favor. The NFC North rival fended off a stiff challenge from the Seahawks in Seattle with a late Justin Jefferson touchdown.
The Lions and Vikings have matching 13-2 records with two games remaining. The good news is the Lions hold the tie-breaker, but the sides play again in the season finale. Regardless, if the Vikings were to lose next week, paired with a Lions win on Monday Night Football, the Honolulu blue and silver will lock up the conference’s top seed for the first time in the Super Bowl era.
Here’s the catch, you have to root for the Packers.