Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images The Detroit Lions are “going out to play and win” against the 49ers, regardless of playoff implications. While the NFL and media are hyperfocused on the postseason and all the complex playoff clinching scenarios, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has made it clear, regardless of playoff implications, when they take on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17: “We’re going out to play and win this game.” While the Lions (13-2) are currently slotted into the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings (13-2) are nipping at their heels, and the Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) are waiting for an opportunity to possibly get back in the mix. Because the Lions play the 49ers on “Monday Night Football” this week, there is a scenario that would render the outcome of this game meaningless, with regard to playoff implications. On Sunday, the Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers, and if Minnesota comes away with the win they would move to 14-2 on the season. With the Lions and Vikings facing off in Week 18, the winner would grab the No. 1 seed (the loser would drop to No. 5) regardless of whether the Lions were 14-2 (win a win over the 49ers) or 13-3 (losing to the 49ers) because the Lions hold the tiebreaker. The Lions are a banged-up football team dealing with a lot of injuries, and if the Vikings beat the Packers, Detroit could seize the opportunity to potentially rest some of their players—allowing some to heal and protecting others from injury—against the 49ers. But Campbell refuses to get caught up in playoff scenarios and has a clear message about the Lions' approach to this game. “I’ll make this easy for everybody that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking, but that way you don’t have to debate them anymore,” Campbell said on Monday. “We’re bringing everything that we have to this game, and we are playing, and I don’t care what it looks like, and where it’s at, or who’s this, who’s that, we’re going out to play and win this game out on the west coast. So, there you go.” There are a couple of reasons Campbell would take this approach. The most obvious being the last time the Lions were in Santa Clara, things didn’t end the way they wanted and they may have some revenge on their mind (similarly to the situation in Dallas earlier in the year). But there’s also a simpler reason: it’s in the Lions' nature to stay aggressive and try and win every game. The Lions culture is heavily based on being the tougher, grittier team. They want to enter every situation with confidence and attitude. And with a handful of new players added to the roster over the last month, Campbell needs to prove to them that winning is a mentality this team embraces in any scenario—and they can do it with a next-man-up approach. There are only so many games in any NFL season and Campbell isn’t going to let this team get complacent. Editor’s note: there is also an unlikely scenario in which the Lions/49ers game matters even if the Vikings beat the Packers. If the Lions and Vikings tie in Week 18, Detroit would need that win over the 49ers to finish with the same record as Minnesota and win the tiebreaker. Lions beat 49ers Lions tie Vikings Lions finish 14-2-1 Vikings beat Packers Vikings tie Lions Vikings finish 14-2-1 Lions win NFC North due to head-to-head tiebreaker You can see without the 49ers win, the Lions would finish with a worse record than Minnesota.