ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions are once again in the playoff picture, sitting eighth as of Monday morning, one game out of the six-team postseason. And with seven games to play, every game gets a bit more important, a bit more intense.

That includes the next two weeks when the Lions face Chicago and Minnesota, two divisional games that, with wins, could go a long way to helping Detroit get back to the postseason for the third time in four years.

So how many wins does Lions coach Jim Caldwell think would get Detroit into the playoffs?

“I’m not concerned with that,” Caldwell said. “I’m concerned with the Bears.”

So when does Caldwell start paying attention to what is going on in the NFC in terms of the playoff race -- something the Lions might have to follow this year since Atlanta (tied with the Lions at 5-4), Carolina (6-3 and plays Monday night) and New Orleans (7-2) all have tiebreakers over Detroit for any wild-card berths?

He doesn’t.

“We don’t. I know I told you guys that a thousand times probably, but it’s a fact," Caldwell said. "It’s one game. If that game just so happens to be the trigger game somewhere down the line, it’s one game. So that’s all we focus in on.”

That’s fair, and it seems to have worked for the Lions, who made the playoffs under Caldwell in 2014 and 2016. But considering that four divisional games remain, they also understand the importance of winning in the NFC North.

And sitting two games behind the Vikings (the Lions' opponent on Thanksgiving in Detroit), those games could end up being critical to whether New Year’s Day ends up being the first day of the Lions' offseason or the start of preparing for the playoffs.