NFL

NFL 2026 · Regular season Week 15

What does Lions vs Vikings change in the NFL playoff race?

Lions

Detroit Lions

6-2

8:20 PM ET

Scheduled

Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

6-1

Sun, Dec 20, 2026 · 8:20 PM ET (Dec 21, 10:20 KST)U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

This weekend in Around Minneapolis · 2 games · See routes →

What's at stake

Current standings (135 games played league-wide) plus this one result, recomputed for the 16 NFC teams. Arithmetic, not odds.

Lions win

  • VikingsNFC #2→#6 seeddivision leader→wild-card spotDivision magic 10→-
  • LionsNFC #6→#5 seedMagic 8→7
  • BearsNFC #5→#2 seedwild-card spot→division leader

Vikings win

  • VikingsMagic 8→7Division magic 10→9

Tie

Both teams going in

TeamSeedMagicTragicDivision magic
LionsNFC #6 seed · 6-268--
VikingsNFC #2 seed · 6-128-10

Magic number = wins left to lock a top-7 seed (division magic: first place); tragic number = losses left until elimination. Ties count against the team in question (official tiebreakers such as head-to-head are not applied; equal records are ordered by BALLDONTLIE seed). How we calculate →

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Team records

Season records as listed by BALLDONTLIE.

New to the NFL?

  • Seed — seven teams per conference (AFC, NFC) make the playoffs. The four division winners take seeds 1–4 whatever their records; the best three of the rest take seeds 5–7.
  • Wild card — seeds 5–7, earned on record without winning the division. Only the No. 1 seed skips the first round (the Wild Card round).
  • Tie — a regular-season game still level after a 10-minute overtime ends as a tie, counted as half a win in winning percentage.
How we calculate →

Game data: BALLDONTLIE. Magic numbers, tragic numbers and seeds are computed by this site.