Opinion·Thursday night
The two wild cards play each other, and Dobbins goes tonight.
Holden is 4–1. John Mitchell is 3–2. Goff and LaPorta are on the bench, which is where a Lion and a bye belong.
Jonah Kim|Matchups|October 15, 2026|3 min
Still talking about Hefner losing by 1.78.
If the season had ended on Tuesday, Holden and John Mitchell were the two wild cards, and they play each other this week. Holden is 4–1. Mitchell is 3–2. The only part of it that happens tonight is J.K. Dobbins, who is in Denver. Goff and LaPorta are on the bench because Detroit is off, and Stafford and Likely are the replacements, which is the move you are supposed to make. Bijan has been quiet for two weeks. That conversation can wait until Sunday. Bowers is listed as questionable on the other side, and Mitchell does not have anyone on a bye in the lineup.
A head-to-head between the two wild cards does not lock a seed, and it does not have to. It does mean one of the teams currently holding a ticket is going to hand the other one a loss. The Thursday piece is small. Dobbins is one back in a game the rest of the league is only watching. The record is the part that lasts past tonight.
