NFC playoff positioning implications of Lions controversial loss to Cowboys

Just when the Detroit Lions were starting to look like a team with serious Super Bowl aspirations, their pathway out of the NFC got a whole lot more difficult. Yes, this has everything to do with the complete and utter mental meltdown by the officials in the final seconds of Saturday night's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Taylor Decker looked pretty eligible to me, but the damn zebras saw otherwise.

Basically, the 11-5 Lions have lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the 11-5 Cowboys. With the San Francisco 49ers probably earning home-field advantage, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles being very much alive for upper-crust positioning in the NFC, the Lions once again find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The NFC North division winners have a challenging run through the playoffs.

Because of the Cowboys' one-point victory over the Lions, here is what all has inevitably transpired.

• A Detroit win would have guaranteed the Lions, at worst, the No. 2 seed in the NFC with one more week left to be played.
• Had the Lions won on Saturday, won again in Week 18 over the Minnesota Vikings, and saw the San Francisco 49ers lose one more game, Detroit would be the No. 1 seed in the NFC with home-field advantage.
• Now with a loss in Week 17, the Lions are probably going to end up with the No. 3 seed, barring something unforeseen by teams around them in the playoff picture.
• After the Lions' defeat, a potential NFC Divisional Round game vs. the NFC East winner is probably going to happen on the road, as opposed to potentially being at home with a win.

The Lions are going to be a very dangerous No. 3 seed, but winning two road playoff games is tough. Although Detroit has not won a playoff game since 1991, this is a team capable of winning multiple.

NFC playoff positioning impacted greatly by Lions-Cowboys disaster

It is kind of funny that the two teams involved in this officiating catastrophe have had issues in the NFC playoffs for roughly 30 years. The Cowboys did infamously beat the Lions in a game not all that long ago that we'd rather not talk about. While Detroit has won a grand total of one playoff game since 1963, the Cowboys have been chasing that 1995 season...

The Triplets Era of Cowboys football was synonymous with getting to and winning Super Bowls. Even if they came up short, they would lose to a team like the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Not since beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 30 have the Cowboys even been to the conference title bout. Every NFC team by Detroit and Washington has played in the game since them.

While it may not be a rematch of the Eagles and 49ers in this year's NFC Championship game, how the Lions-Cowboys game shook out could play a huge part in who plays a part in this year's NFL Final Four. Simply put, while the Lions do get a home playoff game for the first time in three decades, they may have to win an additional two road playoff games to make their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.

Can you imagine the refs being the ones to prevent the Lions from gaining home-field advantage?