Come Friday morning, after the Packers and Lions clash in the biggest Thursday Night Football game of the year so far, either Detroit will be 12-1 dropping Green Bay off the pace, or the newly 10-3 Pack will have given the Eagles a chance to tie the Motor City Kitties for the best record in the NFC on Sunday.
In the current NFL, the latter would be huge for one reason: only one playoff bye.
“It’s super important,” Ross Tucker, who will be on the call of that game for Westwood One Radio, told Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas Tuesday. “We don’t know who's going to be banged up or not for the Eagles at that time, but the Lions have a bunch of banged up guys.”
Tucker is interviewing injured Lions LB Alex Anzalone, who broke his forearm earlier this year, later in the week, and for a guy like that – or, perhaps, Dallas Goedert for Philly if his knee issue is a multi-week absence – who is so important, the bye week is one less time the team has to play without them.
“That extra week can be really critical to try and get some guys back,” Tucker said. “And, you don’t know who else it could be as we move forward, so playing one less game obviously helps.”
Well, that, and if Philly and Detroit are on a collision course for the NFC Championship Game…
“If you believe that…the atmosphere for the Lions-Rams playoff game last year, the first Lions playoff victory in 30 years, I was on the sideline for that and it was bonkers. That was a difference-making environment for Detroit in that game,” Tucker said. “We know that Eagles home games have been a difference-making environment for the opposing teams, it is raucous at the Linc in the playoffs, so I think it makes a big, big difference.”
And, both Detroit and Philly had byes in Week 5, so whoever doesn’t get the playoff bye would be playing for the 16th week in a row if they meet in the NFC Title Game.
“That's a lot of football in a row, and a terrific point,” Tucker said. “I was on with guys in Houston today and they're finally getting their bye, and they played the Hall of Fame Game (in preseason), so that does make a difference, because it’s such a long stretch. I’m personally not a fan of the level of importance of the No. 1 seed, I liked it better when the top two both got a bye, but I think now that the No. 1 seed is way too important and heavily favored…but I won't be complaining if it's the Eagles who get it.”