The NFC’s top seed will be decided in a showdown between NFC North rivals Detroit and Minnesota next week.
Both teams hold 14-2 records, and the winner of Sunday’s matchup will secure a bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs, while the loser will drop to the No. 5 seed and hit the road. Although Monday’s game held little significance for Detroit, the Lions chose to start their key players against the 49ers, sparking some debate.
Leading up to the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell made it clear his starters would play – a decision that drew attention from 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. During a pregame speech, Warner directly addressed Campbell’s comments.
“Dan Campbell said ‘we’re bringing everybody to the West Coast.’ For what? To get your [expletive] beat tonight,” Warner told his teammates.
But it was Detroit who emerged victorious, defeating San Francisco 40-34 and redeeming their NFC Championship loss from the previous season. After the win, Detroit’s social media delivered a sharp response to Warner.
“Brought everybody,” the team posted.
Campbell later admitted he considered resting his starters but ultimately felt playing them was the “right thing” to do.
“I thought about it a lot,” Campbell said. “I thought about it last night, talked to the staff, but I decided it was right to let them play because we owed it to the team.”
Campbell explained that choosing who to sit wasn’t straightforward. “It’s tough to bench players when others aren’t ready to step in,” he said. “We also needed to clean things up offensively from last week, and we did.”
