All eyes are on the upcoming Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings game, set for Sunday (Dec. 11) at Ford Field in Detroit.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell gets the importance of this weekend’s game.

“This is big,” Campbell told reports at his weekly news conference Monday (Dec. 5). “It’s big for our players, it’s big for us. Shoot, it’s a big game for them. But man, look, they’re all special, but this is one of those games, this is why you’re into coaching, this is why you’re into playing, this is why you love the game of football. It’s going to be awesome.”

The Lions have become something of NFL darlings over the past several weeks. The team has won four of their past five games, so they’re back in the playoff race. That’s following a 1-6 start, to boot. If they want to make the playoffs, they might need to win all five of their remaining games- or at least four of them.

The Lions are currently behind the Seattle Seahawks by two games to snag the NFC’s final wild card spot.

The Vikings are currently 10-2 and have bragging rights for the second-best record in the NFL. If they win this weekend’s game against the Lions, they’ll get their first outright NFC North title since 2017.

Minnesota beat the Lions earlier this season in a close, 28-24 game. When asked during Monday’s press conference if the Vikings are the same team now that they were when the Lions played them earlier in the season, Campbell said, “Yes, because they’re still winning.”

“I would say it’s a better version of what they were, because they’ve continued to win,” Campbell added. “This is a winning team. They find ways to win, that’s what they do. And those are the hard teams because they’ve done it against multiple opponents, different ways. Special teams, offense, defense, they’re finding ways to win.”

The Lions towered over the Jacksonville Jaguars, 40-14, on Sunday (Dec. 4) at Ford Field.