Dan Campbell loves that the Detroit Lions have to check the playoff standings

You are nervous. At least a little. But that’s a good thing, because it’s December football. Where you always wanted to be.

Exactly where Dan Campbell wants his Detroit Lions to be. A narrow lead over his pursuers, one of them arriving in town, another couple who have just achieved impressive victories. The margin is narrow and getting tighter.

“Once you hit December, it’s hard not to start looking up a little bit and I mean that in a good way,” Campbell said. “You can start to feel a little bit about the playoffs, you can start to see what’s ahead of you, what’s at stake, you know you’re well in the race, and I think that just gives you a little bit of, I don’t know man, excitement…that’s why you’re in this business.

So, dig in. Rejoice. Embrace low-key anxiety. You’ve been yearning for this for decades, the chance to be a No. 1 seed, home-field advantage all the way to the Super Bowl. It won’t be easy. This shouldn’t be easy. It wouldn’t be as fun if it were easy.

Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles are coming. And this has been happening for several months.

The Green Bay Packers are also coming and will be here Thursday night. The Minnesota Vikings are already here. Or maybe they never left. And won again on Sunday, coming back from a 13-point deficit and winning by one point.

They have won five in a row. They started the season winning five in a row, until your Lions beat them instead.

The Packers, meanwhile, have won three in a row and are putting that intangible thing together, like they did a year ago, when they put it together and found themselves in the playoffs, beating the Cowboys Dallas, then scary San Francisco. Francis.

Remember the 49ers?

They were the main threat at the start of the season. The defending NFC champions. The conference switchboard and bullies. Now they are no longer. A mess that will need a miracle to get back to the playoffs.

Which brings us back to the Eagles, who have perhaps the most talented roster in the conference. And if they don’t, they’re certainly there with the Lions, and since the Lions are short on talent due to injuries, well, who wants to face the Eagles at home in the cold?

And maybe snow?

Campbell once told his team that they would play anyone, anytime, anywhere, even in a junkyard. It turns out that Philadelphia’s home, Lincoln Financial Field, is built where Veterans Stadium once stood, and that stadium was built on a swamp.

It’s a safe bet that Campbell would be playing in a swamp. Certainly, he would play “The Linc”. And he would have his team ready and believing that they were ready to compete to get to the Super Bowl.

But that’s not his preference. He’s aiming for a No. 1 seed and a path to a conference title game at Ford Field. It’s not hard to imagine. Mainly because the Lions keep winning and currently have the best record in the NFC. They have won 10 in a row.

But once again, the Eagles are coming. And they have won eight in a row.

Last Sunday they traveled to Baltimore and beat one of the best teams in the AFC to stay within one game of your Detroit Lions.

Don’t let the 24-19 score fool you. The Ravens scored a touchdown with seconds remaining. Philadelphia stifled one of the best offenses in football.

The win moved the Eagles to 10-2, if you’re paying attention to the standings, and I imagine at this point you are. However, with five games left in the season, I guess you look at more than just the standings and take a look at the Eagles’ games.

To see what they look like, to imagine how they would match up, to check out Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts and this defense. Philadelphia is good across the board, on both sides of the ball.

They are balanced offensively, just like the Lions, they are nasty on the defensive line in the middle, just like the Lions, their backline is fast and physical… just like the Lions.

You can quibble over who has the better secondary, or the linebackers, or the receivers, or the quarterback. And it’s fun, as evidenced by the many arguments pitting teams against each other wherever sports minds gather on television.

It’s a conversation starter, and that’s a good thing too. Something new, at least here. When was the last time you took a look at another team’s schedule in December? And no, I’m not talking about looking at possible wild card teams.

Here I’ll help: The Eagles host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, then host the Pittsburgh Steelers, then travel to Washington to face the Commanders, then finish with the Cowboys and Giants at home. Washington might have them – the Eagles beat them by six in mid-November.

The Steelers could certainly get them, and if they did, that might be enough, even if the Lions lose a game. But they probably can’t lose more than one, and that will be difficult to achieve. Partly because of the injuries – too numerous to list here – and partly because of the schedule.

As mentioned, and as you probably know, the Packers arrive on Thursday. The Buffalo Bills the following Sunday. Next came trips to Chicago and San Francisco. The Vikings come to Detroit to conclude the regular season.

Going 4-1 would be impressive, even 3-2 would be more than respectable. The Bills could be the class of the AFC. The Packers are playing their best football. And the bears? Well, you just saw the Bears up close on Thanksgiving. Now they have a chance at home.

The 49ers, surprisingly, appear to be the easiest test ahead. But they have talent and will be at home.

As Campbell said Sunday, “the race is on.”

And?

“It’s top-tier stuff, and it’s the best of the best and it’s going to go down to the wire and we just have to worry about winning the one in front of us.”

So, yeah, worry about the Eagles, they look like the best team in the NFC outside of Detroit. And also worry about the Packers and Vikings. But try to remember what Campbell also said on Monday:

“It’s great.”

Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.