The stakes couldn’t be higher in rare Vikings-Lions Week 18 showdown

We're in for a treat in Week 18.

While there are very few stakes remaining across the NFL at this point of the season, it's hard to overstate what this weekend will mean for two teams, in particular: the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions.

The two juggernauts are playing each other in a regular-season finale that will not only determine who indeed takes the (NFC) North but will also dictate each team's path through this year's playoffs.

Whichever team wins on Sunday will claim the top seed in the NFC playoffs, clinch the first-round bye and home-field advantage for as long as they're in the dance. They'll also win the toughest division in the league with 15 wins on the season, which would set a new record in Detroit or tie a record in Minnesota for most wins in franchise history. The 1998 Vikings also achieved 15 wins and went on to win the NFC Central and advance all the way to the conference championship. 

Whichever team loses on Sunday will be the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs and will be unlikely to host a playoff game at all. They will also face the conference's fourth seed in the wild card round, which will be a division champion (either the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons depending on how this weekend shakes out).

If any team is equipped to be the away team in the postseason though, it might just be the Lions, who are the only team in the league to go undefeated on the road this year. They're now the third team to do so in the past 10 seasons. Each of the other two teams made the Super Bowl, including the 2016 New England Patriots, who won it all. 

But you can't deny that being a wild card team makes the already insurmountable task of winning the Super Bowl that much harder. There