Three more teams officially clinched playoff berths on Sunday, leaving just a handful of open spots left across the board for teams as the NFL regular season starts to wrap up.
The Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings all earned postseason spots on Sunday despite the Steelers actually losing to the Philadelphia Eagles and the Vikings not playing. The Vikings will wrap up Week 15 of the season in one of two games on Monday night.
While the playoff picture is starting to come together, some teams — including both the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks — may be in trouble.
Geno Smith leaves with injury in loss
The Seahawks stumbled bad on Sunday night in their 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Quarterback Geno Smith went down in the third quarter of the game with a knee injury after taking an awkward hit in his lower leg while he was in the air. Smith landed awkwardly, and limped off the field shortly after.
Geno Smith went down with what looks to be a lower leg injury after this play. He was able to walk off of the field with help from trainers. pic.twitter.com/0Hgv7YK4WK
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 16, 2024
Smith didn’t return to the game, and the Seahawks went with Sam Hartman the rest of the way. While it’s still unclear how severe the injury is, Hartman struggled in Smith’s absence. And the Seahawks dropped into a tie for first in the NFC West standings with the Los Angeles Rams after the loss, so they could end up missing the playoffs altogether if Smith is out for a significant stretch.
His injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Lions facing even more injuries
The Detroit Lions lost a shootout to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, which snapped an 11-game win streak for what could very easily be the best team the city has seen in decades.
But it wasn’t the loss that was the tough part for the Lions. It was the injuries that kept piling up. The Lions lost both cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Khalil Dorsey to injuries in the game. Davis went down with a jaw injury that coach Dan Campbell thinks could be season-ending, and Dorsey was carted off with a brutal ankle injury.
Defensive lineman Alim McNeill went down with a knee injury, too, which could also limit him the rest of the season.
Those injuries come after a string of injuries elsewhere that have already plagued their defense, including to defensive end Aiden Hutchinson, defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and linebacker Alex Anzalone, to name just a few.
The team, whether Campbell wants to admit it’s a factor or not, is incredibly beaten up. With the regular season winding down and the Lions vying for the top spot in the NFC, injuries just keep coming.