As bad as the Lions have played during their current three-game losing streak, they still enter December in control of their own playoff destiny.

At 6-5, the Lions would be the last team in if the postseason started today. Arizona blew its chance to take over the wild-card driver's seat with an overtime loss to San Francisco Sunday, and the Eagles nearly vaulted to pole position with an upset of the Patriots.

I don't think the Lions have enough juice left to make playoffs. They squandered prime opportunities against the Cardinals and Giants — had Dewayne White been healthy they might have won either one — the Redskins have the most manageable schedule left of the contenders, and there's a host of new teams (the Bears, Vikings and Saints) now in the pack one-game back.

But fact is, the Lions can get there, and it's not too complicated how.

A lot hinges on Sunday's game at Minnesota, the latest must-win on the schedule. The Vikings should have Adrian Peterson back, but the Lions locked him up their first meeting (20 carries, 66 yards) and would have won by three touchdowns if Jon Kitna didn't get hurt. After that, they have little to no chance of beating Dallas, will be hard-pressed to win in San Diego, and should beat Kansas City at Ford Field. Splitting the next four games would make the Lions 8-7 heading into the season finale at Lambeau Field, where they haven't won since 1991. Could they really win a do-or-die game there this year? Yes — as long as the Packers have their playoff fate sealed (as either the NFC's 1 or 2 seed) and are resting the bulk of the starters. (The Redskins, it should be noted, can benefit from a similar season-ending trip to Dallas, but like the Lions would be hard-pressed to finish better than 3-2.)

So the Lions would back into the playoffs under the above scenario. After nearly a decade of being a doormat, would you complain?