Lions fans are irked with me. I mean irked, as in mildly annoyed, as in might not want to buy me an ice cream sundae, or let me merge into a busy line of traffic. I don’t think they hate me. Detroit football fans don’t seethe like that.

With the NFL playoffs set to begin this week, two prominent teams will not be competing: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions. Both had phenomenal

The Lions and Chiefs are in a tier of their own odds-wise, thanks to their 15-win seasons and accordant first-round byes. But both have nagging concerns that, if you squint hard enough, begin to look a lot like vulnerabilities. Will any of their potential opponents through the postseason be able to capitalize on those vulnerabilities?

The gauntlet that is the NFL regular season is over, and the seven teams in each conference that managed to separate themselves over that 17-game marathon are the only ones who remain standing.

The Lions averaged a league-high 33.2 points with one of the best offenses whose scoring total trailed just three teams in NFL history. They tied single-season

If you are a fan of one of the final 14 teams left standing, congratulations. Now the fun can begin. Our NFL Playoff Power Rankings have the usual suspects leading the way, but don’t expect all favorites to earn wins in the Wild Card round.