With only two Sundays left in the 2025 NFL regular season, teams fall into one of a few widely different categories. For the most part, teams with a winning record are looking towards the postseason with hope. The reality of a 14-team playoff has not set in, leaving every team believing that it truly has a chance. On the other hand, teams with a losing record (with the exception of Tampa Bay and Baltimore) have their sights set on everything that comes after week 18. A much smaller third category, at the conclusion of week 17, includes a select few franchises who find themselves sitting at exactly .500. 

 

With not having won enough to make the playoffs and not having lost enough to secure a top draft spot, many peg 8-8 as purgatory. However, there is much more to 50-50 ball than that. Everything about an 8-8 team can be understood by how they got there. As an example, look at two 8-8 teams in the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions (the two faced off in week 17 with the Vikings coming away with a 23-10 victory). The early part of the Vikings season, marred by injuries and deflated by unfulfilled expectations, culminated in an entirely underwhelming 4-8 record. Having spent a fortune in free-agency and finally having a healthy JJ McCarthy (the team’s 10th overall draft selection in 2025), the view of the organization and the fans was that the team was entering a Super Bowl window. In reality, McCarthy struggled to stay on the field, and when he did stay healthy his play didn’t seem to justify the Vikings’ tremendous investment in time and capital.. At this tipping point in the season a decision had to be made. The underperforming McCarthy was returning from yet another injury (concussion) and the calls to pull the plug on his tenure - and the season - were getting harder and harder to ignore. 

 

Rather than giving in to the temptation to blame this mess of a season on a quarterback who wasn’t ready, 2024 NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell addressed his team. He talked about pride. KOC told his team that, just because the playoffs are out of reach, doesn’t mean that there’s nothing left to fight for. He talked about practicing the mentality of “going 1-0 every week”. Controlling what you can control and making the most out of every opportunity no matter what else happens. This is exactly what the team did. Following their 4-8 start, they went 1-0. And they did it again. And again and again. Since going 4-8, the team has gone 4-0 and lived up to exactly what KOC instilled in the organization when it was at its lowest. By only worrying about what they could control, the Vikings have brought themselves back to .500 and now have a chance to finish the season with a winning record. Even more importantly, the team has established positive momentum, both for the organization and for the young franchise QB the organization has pinned its hopes on.

 

A totally different story is unfolding in Detroit. Inversely the Detroit Lions also find themselves at 8-8; however, their outlook is much bleaker. Starting the season 8-5, the playoffs were a virtual certainty for a team that, though not having an ideal start, was sure to right their ship before heading into the postseason. However, since then Detroit has gone 0-3. Ending December with three straight losses revealed a lot about the Lions (albeit with injuries, though nothing unexpected for a NFL team in the final stretch of the season). Serious questions about coaching, culture and heart rise to the surface when a team in the playoff hunt can’t close crucial games and execute in crucial moments. People wonder why, in a must win week-17 game against a division rival, a top ranked offense turned the ball over six times, mustering only 10 points. Ended their season this way, the Lions will be asking themselves a lot of important questions. 

 

While Minnesota ends the season with renewed optimism, having achieved the feat of climbing back to 8-8, Detroit can’t help but wonder why things went so wrong, falling all the way back to .500.