The Detroit Lions are tied for first place in the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings at 5-4.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press explains how the Lions can win the division in four steps: Beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, sweep their final three division games, get more production out of defensive end Ziggy Ansah and keep quarterback Matthew Stafford healthy.
"The first-place Detroit Lions, get used to saying that," Birkett wrote.
"Six weeks ago, you would have been laughed out of the office for thinking the Lions had a playoff run in them. But the Lions won by not playing Sunday, and now they're not only in the driver's seat when it comes to winning their first division title in 23 years, now it'd be a disappointment if they didn't.
"The Minnesota Vikings have lost four straight and look nothing like the team that started the season 5-0. The Green Bay Packers look all sorts of out of whack on both sides of the ball. And the Chicago Bears are still trotting out the corpse of Jay Cutler at quarterback.
"The Lions aren't exactly in unprecedented territory. They seemed to have the division in hand before they sat down for Thanksgiving three years ago only to lose four straight and six of seven to finish the season.
"This year feels different, though, and not just because Jim Schwartz isn't cussing out fans on the sideline. This one seems like it'll be tough to blow, even for the Lions."
Seattle's Super tonic
It's been a good 48 hours for Seattle sports fans.
On Sunday night, Seattle's Seahawks traveled to New England and used a goal-line stand to be the Patriots 31-24.
Then Monday, it was announced Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is joining the investment group looking to build a new NBA/NHL arena in Seattle's stadium district.
Lead investor Chris Hansen said Monday that Wilson is "a young, smart and passionate entrepreneur," and is joining the group as a business partner.
Hansen's been the primary investor in the project, with members of the Nordstrom family and former Seattle SuperSonics team president and minority owner Wally Walker also part of the investment group.
Hansen last month announced his intention to privately finance the proposed project in exchange for tax breaks.
The city has acknowledged Hansen's intent while also opening a request for proposals for a possible renovation of KeyArena, the former home of the SuperSonics. The proposals are due in early 2017.
'Honest' headlines
From the weekly "Honest NFL Headlines" series on the satirical sports website sportspickle.com:
• "Divided nation briefly comes together to enjoy Pats loss"
• "Tomlin accepts blame for latest loss: 'I should have tripped Elliott'"
• "Protests break out in cities forced to watch Jets-Rams game"
• "Rodgers still playing QB like an insurance salesman"
• "Cam Newton: 'Sad thing is I planned some amazing outfits for the playoffs"
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald:
• "Next Saturday's Nebraska-Maryland football game will air on ESPNews. Oh, no. Does this mean the dominoes tournament that normally airs on that network is preempted?"
• "Iowa upset Michigan. Immediately after the final whistle, Iowa administrators stormed the field to give Kirk Ferentz a six-year, $20 million contract extension."
• "The NBA is going to place an added emphasis on calling traveling this season. After hearing this NBA players said, 'Added emphasis on calling what?' "
SPORTS QUIZ
What year did Ford Field open in Detroit?
ANSWER
Ford Field, the home of the Detroit Lions, opened in 2002.
Sports on 11/15/2016