Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images Our Week 5 Detroit Lions rooting guide is here! A look at which teams can help Detroit during their bye week. It’s far too early to scoreboard watch in the NFL and talk about the impact on playoff games, but during the Detroit Lions’ bye week, we don’t really have any other choice. So we’re going to temporarily bring back our weekly Rooting Guide before we put it back into hibernation until at least November. We obviously fully expect the Lions to be in the playoff race this winter, but it’s really hard to know which teams to be rooting for this early in the season. But let’s do our best while we take a look at the Week 5 slate of NFL games. Jets (2-2) at Vikings (4-0) — 9:30 a.m. ET — NFL Network Who to root for: Jets Sunday kicks off with the first international game of the season, and it’s an easy one to root for—as long as you can bite your tongue about Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings look dangerous right now, so handing them their first loss of the season would be huge. Panthers (1-3) at Bears (2-2) — 1 p.m. ET — FOX Who to root for: Panthers Staying in the division, the Bears have somehow worked their way to .500 despite having one of the worst offenses in football. If that young group can turn the corner, they could be a tough out later in the season. So let’s pile another loss on their plate against a harmless Panthers team that is actually playing better football with Andy Dalton starting. Browns (1-3) at Commanders (3-1) — 1 p.m. ET — FOX Who to root for: Browns Speaking of surprisingly dangerous teams, the Washington Commanders are suddenly a serious threat amidst Jayden Daniels’ hot start to his NFL career. The Browns are already getting desperate, and handing a win to an AFC team would be harmless for Detroit. This will be the only time in the next week you are allowed to root for Cleveland. Cardinals (1-3) at 49ers (2-2) — 4:05 p.m. ET — FOX Who to root for: Cardinals It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the 49ers get healthy and hot. So tallying as many losses as possible while they’re still banged up would be huge for Detroit. Considering the Lions already have the tiebreaker over Arizona, there is little harm in them getting the win this week. Packers (2-2) at Rams (1-3) — 4:25 p.m. ET — CBS Who to root for: Rams If you’re ever in a spot to root for the Packers, it’s time to reconsider life choices. Again, the Lions have already beaten the Rams, so let’s all root for Matthew Stafford again. Giants (1-3) at Seahawks (3-1) — 4:25 p.m. ET — CBS Who to root for: Giants Detroit has the tiebreaker over Seattle after their win on Monday, but if Seattle beats the Giants, they’ll still jump Detroit in overall record, because 4-1 is better than 3-1. This has been your math lesson of the day. Cowboys (2-2) at Steelers (3-1) — 8:20 p.m. ET — NBC Who to root for: Steelers If you’re ever in a spot to root for the Cowboys, it’s time to reconsider life choices. Always root AFC over NFC when it comes to the playoff race, but chances are I didn’t have to convince you of that. See you next week, Dallas. Saints (2-2) at Chiefs (4-0) — 8:15 p.m. ET MONDAY — ESPN Who to root for: Chiefs The Saints have looked dangerous at times, so it’d be nice for the Chiefs to knock them down a peg. AFC over NFC. Now, if all of these outcomes were to fall in Detroit’s direction, here’s how the NFC North and playoff standings would look like after five weeks. NFC North standings (with ideal outcomes) Vikings: 4-1 Lions: 3-1 Packers: 2-3 Bears: 2-3 Unfortunately, the Lions can’t jump the Vikings during their bye week, but they’ll be an inch closer. The Lions and Vikings face off in Week 7, so that’s Detroit’s best opportunity to retake their spot atop the division. NFC playoff standings (with ideal outcomes) Vikings: 4-1 Commanders: 3-2 Seahawks: 3-2 Falcons: 3-2 Wild Card (top three advance) Lions: 3-1 Buccaneers: 3-2 Eagles: 2-2 All nine other teams at 2-3 Despite having the second-best record in the NFC, the Lions would still hold the fifth seed in the conference due to the Vikings holding the lead in the division. In this wild scenario, though, every team in the NFC would have at least two wins, with nine holding an overall 2-3 record.