The Detroit Lions will head to the West Coast to square off against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 17. The Lions boast a record of 13-2 entering the contest and will look to avenge their loss to the 49ers in last season’s NFC Championship Game.
Though Dan Campbell’s squad will look to tally their 14th win of the year versus San Francisco, Monday’s contest is basically meaningless for the Lions. With the Minnesota Vikings’ victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Detroit will not be able to clinch the NFC North and the No.1 seed in the conference on Monday Night against the 49ers.
The Lions will host the Vikings in Week 18, and the stakes are at an all-time high for a regular season game. The winner of next week’s contest between Detroit and Minnesota will take home the division and the No.1 seed in the NFC, which includes a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The loser will be the No.5 seed in the NFC and play a road game in the opening round of the playoffs.
With Monday Night’s game holding no importance for the Lions, many have called for the team to rest starters and make sure everyone is healthy for the Week 18 showdown versus the Vikings. But Dan Campbell made his stance on the issue clear during a press conference on Monday, Dec.23.
“I’ll make this easy for everybody that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking, but that way you don’t have to debate them anymore,” Campbell said. “We’re bringing everything we got to this game and we are playing, I don’t care what it looks like and where it’s at and who’s this, who’s that. We’re going out to play and win this game, out on the West Coast. So there you go.”
Though resting starters for this Week 17 contest would be an understandable move from Campbell, as the Lions have nothing to play for, the former NFL tight end has built a culture centered around grit and perseverance in Detroit. Resting starters and not putting your best effort into every game isn’t in Campbell’s DNA, and he made that very clear.
So, it looks like the Lions will be playing their starters on Monday Night and will attempt to capture a win on the road in Santa Clara.
