The Lions' season is on the line Thursday night.

As the NFC playoff picture stands going into Week 14, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are both on the outside looking in as they enter Thursday night's game against one another... and they'll be each other's most immediate threat to missing the playoffs.

With the Lions at 7-5 and the Cowboys at 6-5-1, they rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the standings, just below the seven teams in playoff position. Neither is out of their division race at two games back, but before they can worry about catching the leaders in the North (Bears) and East (Eagles), they have to worry about stacking wins. That starts Thursday, and the Lions should probably be a little more desperate than Dallas.

There's three reasons for that:

1. The best way these teams can guarantee themselves a playoff berth is to win their divisions, and the Lions are chasing not one but two teams, including the Packers, who own a tie-breaker over Detroit by winning both head-to-head games. Not to mention, the Packers and Bears play each other Sunday, so Detroit is guaranteed to gain ground on at least one team with a win -- or lose ground with a loss.

2. Detroit's schedule is just a tad more difficult than Dallas' down the stretch. After Thursday, the Lions have to travel West to play the 9-3 Rams in Week 15. Then, they finish the season on the road against the 9-3 Bears. In between those games, the Lions host the Steelers and visit the Vikings in what's likely to be the only games they're favored to win, and even those won't be cakewalks against an AFC playoff hopeful and a division rival on the road (Minnesota already beat Detroit once).

Dallas, on the other hand, gets the Vikings and Chargers at home before visiting the Commanders and Giants. Again, division games aren't easy, but the Cowboys are likely to be favored in at least three of their final four games. Which gives them ample opportunity to make a late wild card push at the very least -- or capture the East if the Eagles' skid continues.

3. Detroit's championship window is now... though it's threatening to shut a lot sooner than anyone anticipated. After claiming the No. 1 seed last postseason before being upset in the divisional round, and blowing a massive lead in the conference championship the year before, Detroit entered this season with the NFC's second-best odds to win the Super Bowl. To miss the playoffs altogether would be a massive disappointment. A loss on Thursday would push the Lions one step closer to that reality.

To be clear, this game is huge for both teams. It'll be the biggest Thursday night matchup to this point in the season. But a loss would be a bigger blow for the Lions. They have to win this game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo evaluating his future

It sounds as though Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on his way out of Milwaukee. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the two-time NBA MVP has been engaged in conversations with the Bucks about whether his best fit is to stay or find a new home.

In light of this news, FTW's Andrew Joseph came up with a list of potential landing spots for Antetokounmpo, which unsurprisingly includes the New York Knicks -- a team the nine-time all-star reportedly requested a trade to in the offseason.

"It's been made clear that the Knicks are Giannis' preferred destination. So even though a deal couldn't be reached in the offseason, Giannis will probably want the Bucks to re-engage their talks with the Knicks. Now, does New York want to break up a strong core with great chemistry in pursuit of Giannis? We'll see."

If the Knicks can get Antetokounmpo, they have to at least explore the ways they can make that happen, chemistry be damned. They just have to retain enough talent so that Antetokounmpo isn't left in the same situation he's currently in, trying to drag a team not equipped to compete.

Quick hits: NFL picks ATS ... Chris Paul vs. Ty Lue ... and more

  • So which team does are expert staff favor to come out on top in the big Dallas-Detroit game? Here's a look at our straight-up NFL picks for Week 14 and here's who we like against the spread this week.
  • We've got more news on the Lane Kiffin front -- a pupdate if you will. As it turns out, Juice Kiffin will be joining Lane and the family down in Baton Rouge.
  • After the Clippers stunningly released Chris Paul on Wednesday, here's what reports had to say about head coach Ty Lue's involvement in the move.
  • Our guy Cory Woodroof made Oscars predictions for the 2026 Academy Awards.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Lions are in must-win territory vs. Cowboys

Reporting by Prince J. Grimes, For The Win / For The Win

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