With the Week 18 regular-season finale here, there may be a couple of teams that have already clinched playoff spots that decide to rest their starters. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, for example, have already clinched the No. 1 seeds, so they can do what they like this weekend.
There are other teams, such as the Detroit Lions, who have already clinched a playoff spot, but their exact seed is not set. Detroit could potentially be bumped up from the No. 3 seed in the NFC to the No. 2 seed, but would need some major help in the form of losses from the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, plus a Lions win. So, will the Lions rest their starters in Week 18 vs. the Minnesota Vikings? Head coach Dan Campbell said that is not the plan.
"Yeah, that's the plan right now, is play our guys," Campbell told reporters Monday.
Following a controversial loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night, which included a mix-up with an eligible receiver reporting on a two-point conversion, Campbell is clearly motivated to finish out the regular season in strong fashion.
Controlled fury 🔥 pic.twitter.com/gKiLKGB4mT
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 1, 2024
"I've got controlled fury, and I'm ready to go," said Campbell. "I am absolutely ready to go. I don't go the other way, and the team won't either. We're on a mission and we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves and wallow in everything. We had plays to make, we didn't make them. It's a tight game, a good opponent, playoff-type atmosphere and you gotta make that one extra play that we didn't. So we will use this as fuel. I got pure octane right now. I woke up, I'm ready. So we're moving forward."