There’s plenty of history on the line in arguably the Detroit Lions’ biggest regular-season game of the past six decades (and definitely the biggest game in Ford Field’s two-plus decades), but also the future: Beat the Minnesota Vikings and not only are the Lions NFC North champs — which would be their first time repeating as division champs since 1953-54 — but they’re the NFC’s No. 1 seed, with the lone bye week in the conference.

Getting the first weekend of the playoffs isn’t required to reach the Super Bowl — the Kansas City Chiefs made it last season after playing a wild-card game, as did the Cincinnati Bengals and LA Rams in 2021 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the first season of the current playoff setup. But even out of those four teams, just one — the Bucs — did it starting out on the road. (Tom Brady’s wild-card squad took out Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay in three straight road games.)

So will the Lions wrap up a week off and a late-January playoff opener at Ford Field, or will they hit the road — most likely either Atlanta or Tampa — for next week’s wild-card round? Four Free Press sports writers have some thoughts:

DAVE BIRKETT’S SCOUTING REPORT: Why he’s picking the Lions

Dave Birkett

What a game to end the season. Lions and Vikings for the NFC North title. Winner gets a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, loser goes on the road next week as the five seed. Campbell tried to keep the hype train in check this week by noting this isn’t playoff game. It feels like it, though, and that’s as big a reason as any why I think the Lions squeak out a win.

These are two evenly-matched teams. The Lions have the more explosive offense, the Vikings have the more dynamic defense. Last time they met, Bates kicked the game-winning field goal with 15 seconds to play, one series after Darnold misfired on a pass to an open Jefferson that might have clinched a Minnesota win. I expect this game to come down to the wire in similar fashion. The Lions don’t have much room for error because of their injuries on defense, but Goff has played lights-out football of late and homefield advantage has to count for something. The pick: Lions 27, Vikings 26.

Carlos Monarrez

The Lions were the better team when they beat the Vikings 2½ months ago. Now the Vikings are by far the healthier team, which makes them the better team. Minnesota is a balanced team featuring a superstar receiver and a defense that produces interceptions and sacks from numerous players and hasn’t allowed more than 27 points since late October. The Lions have the NFL’s best offense, but it has to be nearly perfect on every drive against good teams to make up for a banged-up defense that’s allowing an average of 30 points the past five games and needed Jake Moody’s balky leg to bail it out last week. The pick: Vikings 36, Lions 31.

Jeff Seidel

Punt? Who needs to punt? Get ready for a wild shootout in the biggest regular season game ever played in Ford Field. Get ready for a whole bunch of Gamblin’ Dan Campbell. Get ready for hold-your-breath drama. The Lions won’t be able to stop the Vikings through most of this game. Then again, the Vikings won’t be able to the Lions. It is going to be incredibly stressful and dramatic. But the Lions will get one big play, one turnover, that will change everything. The pick: Lions 35, Vikings 32.

Shawn Windsor

The defense is worrisome. The offense not so much. The stakes, meanwhile, are historic. The crowd should help and a turnover or two will be the difference. These Lions aren’t just resilient, they’re opportunistic, and they will make the play against Sam Darnold they could not against Josh Allen. The pick: Lions 27, Vikings 24.

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons continue their four-game homestand on Saturday night, as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half of their back-to-back.

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The Pistons continue to roll as the New Year continues on. Despite losing to the Denver Nuggets in their final game of 2024, the team has kicked off 2025 with a couple of solid wins. After taking down the Orlando Magic on New Year’s Day, Detroit followed that up by hanging on to beat the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, 98-94.

Tobias Harris led the Pistons with a double-double, scoring 24 points with 10 rebounds, while Jalen Duren also posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Detroit is now ninth in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Miami Heat for sixth.

The Timberwolves come into the Motor City after suffering a tough 118-115 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday. It marks back-to-back defeats for Minnesota, who had won three straight games before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on New Year’s Eve. The Timberwolves are fighting to stay close to sixth place in the Western Conference. They are currently 10th, two games back of the Dallas Mavericks.

This is the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. The T-Wolves won both matchups with the Pistons last year.

NBA BASKETBALL

Minnesota Timberwolves (17-16) vs. Detroit Pistons (16-18)

When: Saturday, January 4

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Where: Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, Mich.)

Channel: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit

Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), DirecTV Stream

Check out the NBA standings and results on NBA.com