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CHICAGO -- Jim Caldwell doesn't need to worry about his family or the media asking about the playoffs anymore. The Detroit Lions are in the postseason and didn't even need to win either one of the last two games of the season to do it. The Lions clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 on Saturday night after Washington upset Philadelphia, 27-24. Due to tiebreakers the Lions hold over the Eagles, there is no way Detroit can miss the playoffs. The last time Detroit made the playoffs, it clinched in Week 16 as well by knocking off San Diego on a Saturday. This marks the Lions' second playoff berth since the turn of the century and second in four seasons. Jim Caldwell becomes the first Detroit coach to make the playoffs in his first season with the club since 1997, when Bobby Ross went 9-7 and lost in the wild-card round. Caldwell and Ross are the only Detroit coaches in franchise history to make the playoffs in the first season with the team. The Lions still have a lot to play for, too. Detroit can still win the NFC North by winning at Green Bay next week or by winning Sunday in Chicago and having the Packers lose to Tampa Bay. If the Lions do not win the division, they are likely the No. 6 seed due to not holding tiebreakers against Arizona or Seattle. Detroit holds tiebreakers over Dallas and Philadelphia. Detroit has not won a divisional title since 1993, when the NFC North was the NFC Central, but that is still in play for the Lions.
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