By Anthony Kuehn

Special to Detroit Free Press

Anthony Kuehn is editor of the Detroit Lions blog Lions Gab. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press or its writers. Get in touch with Anthony at lionsgab@gmail.com or on Twitter @lionsgab.

After the Detroit Lions shook off the cobwebs and resembled a football team again on Thanksgiving, the focus shifted to the Green Bay-New England showdown on Sunday. A Patriots' win would put the Lions back in first in the division, whereas a Packers' win would keep them a game back and occupying the sixth seed in the NFC. The Packers hung on to beat the Patriots at home, and that has put some heat on the Lions.

The Lions have three games in a row against teams with losing records — the next two at home — before they head to Green Bay to close out the season. I have already seen "trap game" and "easy stretch in the schedule" references aplenty. Despite the losing records, these next few games are of extreme importance and none of the teams can be taken lightly. The playoffs have already started for the Lions, as one loss could drastically alter their season.

Tampa Bay is 2-10, and it is very easy to overlook this team, especially since the Buccaneers are coming to Detroit. Of those 10 losses, seven have come by one score, meaning the Bucs have kept themselves in almost every game this season. They also upset the Steelers in September and feature one of the most dangerous young players in the league in Mike Evans. They also have been playing the last two weeks without Lavonte David, one of the best defenders in the league, and he might be back this week. The Bucs have a very good defensive line and an underrated secondary, and they were a boneheaded penalty away from upsetting the Bengals on Sunday. Not to mention, coach Lovie Smith is very familiar with the Lions' personnel from all his years in Chicago.

The Vikings are 3-2 over their last five games, with one of those losses a very impressive effort against Green Bay, which they lost by only three. The Lions are facing a much different team than the one they beat in October. The Minnesota defense has forced six turnovers and 15 sacks in the last five games, and the special teams added two touchdowns against the Panthers. The Vikings' offense is not capable of carrying the team, but it is capable of taking advantage of short fields caused by turnovers and drives stalled by sacks.

The Bears have very little going for them right now, and the Dec. 21 game at Chicago does appear to be the Lions' easiest remaining game, but do not underestimate the field conditions at Soldier Field. The stadium is just blocks off of Lake Michigan, and wind and lake-effect snow could be issues. The playing surface is abysmal, which works to the Bears' advantage. They have two gigantic receivers, a huge tight end and one of the best all-around running backs in the league. The defense is at a huge disadvantage against that offense if the field is a mess because Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey and Martellus Bennett can use their size, while defenders will have a hard time leaping on a bad surface. Matt Forte is dangerous in the passing game, and screen passes and quick dump-offs get him in open space against the defense. He is one of the better runners in bad field conditions, so a muddy field will be an advantage for him. Look back to the first half of the Atlanta game to see how much a bad field impacted the Lions. Defenders were slipping and falling in coverage, the defensive line couldn't fly off the ball and penetrate a terrible offensive line, and receivers fell down a number of times. Not to mention Golden Tate's biggest asset is his quickness, and nothing negates quickness like mud.

Lastly, the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau in late December. The Lions haven't won in Wisconsin since 1991, and the fact that this game will likely move to Sunday Night Football won't help. The Packers have been unstoppable at home this season, and three of the Lions' four losses have been on the road. The Packers would need to lose twice in the next three games for this game to become meaningless, which isn't happening.

The Lions trail the Packers by a game right now, but Detroit owns the tiebreaker because of the head-to-head win. If the Lions lose in Green Bay but still have the same record, the Packers would win the tiebreaker since they beat New England and Carolina.

The Lions will likely get a wild-card spot if they finish 10-6, so they don't need to win out to make the playoffs, but as a wild card their road is a tough one. The likely destinations for their first playoff game would be Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dallas, Arizona, Atlanta or possibly Seattle. The best case would be Dallas or probably Atlanta, but the rest are stadiums with notorious home-field advantages.

Though many fans see the next three games as easy wins, I see the stretch of the playoffs, as every game is of the utmost importance. The Lions should be able to make the playoffs even if they go 2-2 over the next four games, so it's not exactly do-or-die time. However, there is a big difference between three straight road games to get to the Super Bowl, and potentially having a first round bye and getting at least one game at home in the playoffs. The Lions' Super Bowl odds aren't great, but they are greatly diminished if they have to go through New Orleans, Arizona and Green Bay versus at least one home game and a potential bye. If making the playoffs is the ultimate goal, the Lions have wiggle room. If winning the Super Bowl is the goal, the playoffs have already begun.