One final playoff push and Vikings v Lions - 5 NFL storylines

This is it.

After 17 weeks, we head into the final weekend of the NFL's regular season. This weekend promises to be an enthralling conclusion to the period ahead of the playoffs, which start on Saturday, 11 January.

Here are five things to look out for this weekend.

Battle for the North and the NFC

The biggest clash of the weekend sees two 14-win teams come up against each other when the Minnesota Vikings travel to face the Detroit Lions early on Sunday Night Football in what is a pivotal game.

A win for either team will see them clinch the NFC North title in a very competitive year for the division, but more importantly the victor will possess the number one seed in the NFC, which will mean home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a week off during Wild Card Weekend. The victor will need to win at home twice to make Super Bowl LIX.

The losing team will enter the playoffs as the fifth seed. They will play away from home in the Wild Card round.

On Monday night, the Lions had a close victory over the San Francisco 49ers with a score of 40-34, with head coach Dan Campbell refusing to rest any starters.

While the game showed the firepower that the Lions have on their offence, the performance in Santa Clara highlighted some issues with a depleted defensive unit, which can be expected when over 10 players are out for Campbell’s team. That being said, they are hopeful that defensive captain linebacker Alex Anzalone could return for the matchup on Sunday.

"It's more about finding a way to win, and that’s really the objective here."@Lions HC Dan Campbell ahead of #MINvsDET on Sunday Night: pic.twitter.com/yEQoQKLfuF

The Minnesota Vikings have been on a fantastic run in recent weeks, winning their ninth consecutive game last