Not everyone is rooting for the Lions to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but most NFC contenders are on the black-and-gold bandwagon this week.
Detroit (8-6) sits in the tenuous No. 8 spot looking up at the NFC seven-team playoff field with three regular-season games remaining and the fate of at least five teams could swing on this Week 16 result.
“Go back to work. That’s the message,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of his mantra entering the final scheduled home game of the season. “Don’t worry about the what ifs and this. We have to win.”
If the Lions lose in the late afternoon window to the Steelers (8-6) on Sunday, celebrations are likely to be set off across the conference starting with Seattle (11-3) and San Francisco (10-4) — both join the Rams in the postseason field by winning or the Lions losing a seventh game. The winner of a Saturday night NFC North matchup in Chicago between the Packers and Bears would also pop playoff-clinching corks with a Detroit defeat.
Yes, Green Bay’s playoff ticket potentially rests in the hands of Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
In addition to a victory Sunday, the Lions almost assuredly need to post road wins at Minnesota (Christmas Day) and Chicago (Jan. 4) to push their way into the wild-card fray.
“We still have an opportunity, and we have to make the most of it,” Campbell said. “I know we can do it, these players know we can do it. You go back to work, man. I don’t believe for one second anyone has lost confidence.”
The Lions put up 34 points in a loss to the Rams last week and there’s as much power as there is pomp in the Detroit scheme. Pittsburgh gears up for Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 1,100 rushing yards, 494 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns in 2025. The Lions average 131.1 yards per game on the ground and the Steelers are giving up 120.9 rushing yards per game as part of the league’s 28th-ranked defense in total yards allowed (383.3 per game).
Gibbs and David Montgomery are likely to get every chance to run the Lions past Pittsburgh. The Steelers played without All-Pro T.J. Watt (lung) last week and held Miami to 63 yards on 16 carries, salve for wounds inflicted by the Buffalo Bills (51 carries for 249 yards) and Baltimore Ravens (40-217) the previous two games. Steelers inside linebacker Patrick Queen leads the NFL in missed tackles, a weakness the Lions are certain to test.
“When they’re all involved we’re just better. We’re a better offense,” Campbell said of getting Montgomery and others more touches. “I think about it a lot.”
The Lions are expecting cornerback Amik Robertson to play with a few limitations due to a hand injury suffered last week, when the Rams lit up the Detroit defense for a season-worst 41 points and 519 total yards.
Pittsburgh’s injury concerns are on the offensive line and at linebacker. They won for only the second time — but are 2-11 all-time — without Watt since he entered the league. Nick Herbig filled in but left Monday’s game with a hamstring injury. Jack Sawyer wound up playing more snaps (28) on defense than special teams (17).
Tomlin said he’ll know more about his pass rushers later in the week.
A trip to Ford Field is nothing new to Rodgers from his days with the Packers, and the Steelers won a Super Bowl on this field in 2006. But Rodgers has lost his three most recent matchups with the Lions (two in 2022 and Jan. 2023) despite a 54-12 TD-to-INT ratio in his career against Detroit.
Rodgers said Wednesday he went through practice with no protective covering on his fractured left wrist and called his healing a “work in progress.”
The Steelers are likely to emphasize running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell due to the balance they can bring to Pittsburgh’s inconsistent offense. Gainwell might be a surprise to some, but the Steelers are getting what they expected from the free-agent addition, Tomlin said, after experiencing his impact first-hand facing the Eagles in 2024. Gainwell had 126 yards from scrimmage Monday in the Steelers’ win over the Miami Dolphins.
“Aaron Rodgers, that’s all I can say,” Gainwell said of the difference in him hitting career highs in multiple statistical categories this season. “Him trusting me, my hands, doing the small things and going out there and working.”
Warren and Gainwell have combined for 1,336 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and Gainwell is the team’s top receiver with 57 receptions.
“I like Gainwell,” Campbell said. “It’s a matchup most teams, back on a linebacker, are looking to get and Aaron has done a good job getting him the ball.”
Tomlin said the Steelers put in extra research to try to find weaknesses in linebacker Jack Campbell’s game. He leads the team in total snaps by the Lions’ count.
“I have a lot of respect for who he is as a football man, and his relationship with the game. He is certainly a natural leader and football player and man,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers are leading the AFC North yet on thin ice with the Ravens (7-7) on their heels with the rivals booked for a Week 18 matchup that could decide the division. Pittsburgh won at Baltimore two weeks ago, but the Steelers are just 1-3 against the NFC this season and sense Detroit’s desperation.
A successful running game stands as the best defense for slowing down Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. He faces constant tandem blocking but still leads the NFL with 85 pressures entering Week 16. The Steelers more than survived with third-string left tackle Dylan Cook holding the Dolphins out of the backfield, but Hutchinson is a different animal. The protection challenges are compounded if backup left guard Spencer Anderson has to start for Isaac Seumalo (triceps), but the Lions know pressuring Rodgers isn’t easy.
“He plays fast. He plays fast and he’s accurate,” Campbell said. “He can process it like that and with a flick of the wrist it’s in the receiver’s hands where they can do damage.”
For the Steelers, Watt, Seumalo, Herbig and cornerback James Pierre (calf) did not practice Wednesday. Receiver Ben Skowronek Illness/hand) and left tackle Andrus Peat (concussion) were limited.
Left tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder) and safety Kerby Joseph (knee) sat out practice for the Lions, while center Trystan Colon (wrist), tackle Giovanni Manu (knee), cornerback Amik Robertson (hand) and running back Sione Vaki (thumb) were limited.
