Winning 11 straight games in the NFL — the Detroit Lions’ current streak — is pretty rare.

But winning 12 straight, as the Lions could do on Sunday with a victory over the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field (4:25 p.m., CBS)? That’s elite territory — just 13 teams in the Super Bowl era (aka, dating back to 1967) have a single-season streak of that length. (We won’t list them all, but the most recent was the 2019 Baltimore Ravens.)

What does that mean for the Lions’ ultimate goal of reaching the Super Bowl? Of those 13, nine — that’s 69.2%  — made the Super Bowl, with five (38.5%) finishing their season hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Compare that to the 11-win streakers: Of the 26 in the Super Bowl era (not counting the Lions this season, 13 (50%) made the Big Game, and seven (26.9%) won it all.

DAVE BIRKETT’S SCOUTING REPORT: Why I think Lions win showdown of Super Bowl contenders

So 12 straight wins is clearly a tipping point for Super Bowl chances. Will the Lions get there? Four Free Press sports writers have some thoughts on that.

Dave Birkett

The Lions are the best team in the NFC, winners of 11 straight and owners of the league’s best offense, and the Bills might be the best team in the AFC. They won seven straight before losing to the Rams, have the likely league MVP in Allen and can score at will like the Lions. Lions OC Ben Johnson said games billed as shootouts often don’t play out that way, but I’d be surprised if this was anything other than a close, high-scoring affair that comes down to the last possession. The Bills lost back-to-back games early this season and don’t strike me as the type of team that will do it again. But I’ve been burned by doubting the Lions before and learned my lesson.

The Lions need to get off to a fast start and play with the lead to dictate style. That will help Goff keep the ball out of harm’s way against an opportunistic defense, and ultimately help the Lions set a single-season franchise record for wins with three games to play. The pick: Lions 31, Bills 30.

Carlos Monarrez

I love the thought of a high-scoring track meet between the NFL’s top two scoring offenses. But both defenses are good, too, and the Bills will be motivated to make up for last week’s defensive disaster against the Rams. We’ll still see points, but not quite as many as most people might expect. The pick: Lions 33, Bills 29

Jeff Seidel

This is gonna be a wild shootout — a potential Super Bowl preview. In this one, Josh Allen will prove too formidable against the Lions’ beat up defense. But the Lions have a shot to win this game because of Buffalo’s tendency to give up big plays.

We are gonna see plenty of Gamblin’ Dan Campbell. But the Lions’ luck will run out. Fret not. When these two teams meet in the Super Bowl, the Lions should have some key players back. And it’s so dang hard to beat a team twice. Lose this one and get the win in New Orleans. Yes, Lions fans would take that. The pick: Bills 31, Lions 28.                                

Shawn Windsor

Until the Lions lose, I’m not picking against them, at least not in the regular season. They are home. They are getting (relatively) healthy.

The run stoppers up front should be back. The run helper — Taylor Decker — should be back. (Decker helps give Jared Goff a bit more time to pass as well.) And the defense, on the whole, is no doubt tired of hearing how explosive and unstoppable the Buffalo Bills’ offense is. Well, it is. And Josh Allen is a load and a half, and maybe more. And he beat the Lions the last time he was at Ford Field. That was Thanksgiving 2022. Allen made a few plays in the final seconds to set up the winning field goal.

The Lions are the ones making the plays at the end of games these days. They’ll make one more Sunday afternoon to keep the winning streak going. The pick: Lions 31, Bills 30.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions predictions vs Buffalo Bills in Week 15 NFL