SANTA CLARA, Calif. >> The Detroit Lions were in an unusual spot.

Their Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings is arguably the biggest game of the NFL season, with the winner earning a division title, the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, while the loser will have to go on the road on Wild Card weekend as the NFC’s No. 5 seed. In the meantime, Detroit’s Week 17 game at the San Francisco 49ers was essentially of no importance.

Many Lions fans wondered if Detroit would consider resting starters for the game, with the idea that a decimated roster could avoid further injury to key players by playing reserves instead. But that’s not what the Lions did.

Lions coach Dan Campbell made it known that would be the case earlier in the week, but he elaborated more after the team’s 40-34 win against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Had the Green Bay Packers been able to beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon, Detroit would have had a chance to clinch the division and the No. 1 seed on Monday Night Football. But without knowing the stakes of their game against the 49ers, they simply had to prepare as if it would indeed be a clinching scenario.

“We don’t get to prepare those other guys because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Campbell said. “For example, like, (quarterback Hendon) Hooker’s not getting those reps. Those are Goff’s reps because we don’t know (how important the game will be), and that’s just one example. So, it’s not fair. I don’t believe it’s fair to put in a guy who’s not prepared to play, especially a young player.”

The Lions prepared all week as if this could be their opportunity to clinch the division. Once the Vikings held off the Packers, Detroit was already on the west coast. Campbell said he considered playing a number of reserves, but ultimately, it just didn’t make sense.

Gameday rosters are comprised of just 46 players, meaning there’s not a full backup unit for each position.

“I thought a lot about it. I thought about it leading up to the game,” Campbell said. I thought about it last night. I told the staff but I ended up settling on the right thing to do was play these guys. We owed it to the team and it was just one of those positions we were in. It’s just hard to say who you’re going to sit and it’s not fair to ask guys to play in a game that haven’t been prepared to play.

“So, that was tough.”

Ultimately, the Lions got the win and did not appear to suffer any injuries of concern during the game.