After dominant regular season, NFC North goes winless in playoffs

The Lions lost on Saturday and football's best division went 0-3 in the postseason.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) walks off the field after 45-31 loss to Washington Commanders at the NFC divisional round at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers combined to go 40-11 in the regular season, making the NFC North the best division in football.

They went 0-3 in the playoffs.

The Lions, who won the division and earned the NFC's No. 1 seed with a 15-2 record, lost 45-31 to the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders in the divisional round at Ford Field on Saturday. They lost the turnover margin 5-0, which is almost impossible to overcome. Detroit put up over 500 yards again, but the turnovers and a huge game from Jayden Daniels and Washington's offense (481 total yards) did them in.

The Lions trailed 31-28 midway through the third quarter in what had been an electrifying shootout (the kind of game we thought Lions-Vikings would be in Week 18). But after the Commanders stretched the lead back to ten, a Jameson Williams interception on Ben Johnson's latest trick play proved to be a back-breaking mistake for the home team. Jared Goff also threw three interceptions, including a pick-six, and was strip-sacked in the defeat.

COMMANDERS PICK-6. WASHINGTON LEADS 24-14.

📺: #WASvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LgPnGmkrvy

— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025

The three NFC North powers lost their opening playoff games by a combined score of 94-50. They lost the turnover margin 11-0 as a collective. The Vikings and Packers went out with a whimper in the wild card round, falling 27-9 to the Rams and 22-10 to the Eagles, respectively.

The Lions were supposed to be on another level. This was supposed to be the year they reached their first Super Bowl. But in the end, their defensive injuries proved to be too much to overcome. They had to outscore everyone down the stretch, which is very difficult to do. And on Saturday night, the Commanders and their star rookie quarterback came into Ford Field as major underdogs and pulled off an incredible upset.

Two weeks ago today, Dan Campbell told Kevin O'Connell he'd see him in two weeks. That third Vikings-Lions matchup never materialized, but Campbell was right — in a sense. The two teams who went 27-5 in the regular season will both be sitting on the couch for the NFC championship game.

In Cancun! https://t.co/fksvL95egZ

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) January 19, 2025

This will be a fascinating offseason for the entire NFC North. The Lions will have an extremely talented roster again next season, but they could potentially lose both Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching roles in the next couple weeks. Even losing one of the two would test the importance of that coordinator to their recent success.

Similarly, the Vikings could lose Brian Flores. They also have to decide whether to re-sign Sam Darnold or hand the keys to J.J. McCarthy. The Packers will likely run it back with a similar roster next year, but it remains to be seen if they have a championship ceiling with Jordan Love. The Bears will be hiring a new head coach as they head into year two with Caleb Williams.

The division figures to be pretty strong once again in 2025. Will any postseason success follow?

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