Dan Campbell might further risk Lions Super Bowl chances on MNF

An argument can easily be made that the Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFL. They lead the league in points per game and rank seventh in points against despite a myriad of injuries they've had to deal with on the defensive side of the ball. They lead the NFL with a +194-point differential. Oh yeah, they're 13-2 as well.

Normally, a team that's 13-2 and has played as well as the Lions have would already have the division and No. 1 seed locked up by now. With the Minnesota Vikings sitting at 14-2, that's not close to the case. Regardless of what the Lions do against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, the winner of the NFC North and the NFC's No. 1 seed will be whichever team emerges victorious in the Week 18 game featuring Detroit and Minnesota.

Considering the fact that the result of this upcoming Week 17 game doesn't matter in the slightest, it was safe to assume that the Lions would consider resting some or all of their players to gear up for a massive final regular season game. That, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, is not going to happen at all.

Dan Campbell is playing an unnecessarily dangerous game on MNF

I can understand being reluctant to rest players and not wanting to just hand a game to an opponent, but the Lions are playing a dangerous game by "going for it."

This Lions team is decimated by injuries, especially on the defensive side of the ball. What happens if they lose another key player or two - particularly on that end? Even if they weren't dealing with a myriad of injuries, is risking one worth it in a meaningless game?

An argument can already be made that because of Detroit's injuries, they face an uphill battle in a top-heavy NFC conference. Can they win the conference? Absolutely, but it's going to be a lot tougher if guys like Aidan Hutchinson, David Montgomery, Alim McNeill, and others cannot play. Adding more key players to that list in a meaningless game would be a brutal outcome.

What makes this decision even worse is that Detroit's Week 18 game would come on a short week, with them playing just six days from now. Do the Lions want their players to be less rested than they normally would be ahead of their biggest game of the season?

Getting a revenge win against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season would be nice, but this isn't even remotely the same 49ers team that ended their year. The Lions should not be thinking about last year at all when they've arguably got a better shot at winning the Super Bowl this season.

Again, revenge would be sweet, and there is something to be said about not taking your foot off the gas, but the risks greatly outweigh the reward that the Lions get from not resting their starters in a completely meaningless game.