FULL SCORE
- Defense rules the roost at Christmas. Minnesota’s past month has largely been defined by Brian Flores’ defense, a unit that made Week 16 a nightmare for Jackson Dart and the Giants, kept the Cowboys in check and kept the Chiefs completely off the scoreboard. On paper, Detroit presented a different challenge, but that didn’t matter to the Vikings, an opportunistic team that nearly doubled Detroit’s season total in turnovers (8) in a single game, collecting six wins to repeatedly deny the Lions a chance to close the gap. Minnesota held Detroit to under 30% offensive success, according to Next Gen Stats, and 5-of-14 on third down. Before the desperate final drive, the Lions had 174 total yards through 56 minutes of action, a number that pales in comparison to the benchmark they had set for most of the last two seasons — and points directly toward the success the Vikings have enjoyed on defense in December. Minnesota’s chances evaporated before Christmas, but the Vikings are finishing this disappointing season on a positive note, a good way to enter the holiday season.
- Lions go out quietly. In a must-win game, Detroit found every way to lose. The Lions committed six turnovers, incl Jared Goff ended up being responsible for five of them (two interceptions, three lost fumbles). Every time Detroit seemed to be building even the tiniest bit of momentum, a turnover ended their chances, sometimes in embarrassing fashion (just look at some of Goff’s cursed snaps for proof). It wasn’t typical of a Lions franchise that has captured an NFC title in recent years, but it was all too familiar for the late 2025 Lions, a team that couldn’t overcome the loss of a team on both sides of the ball and completely lost its ability to establish the rush, which severely limited their offensive capabilities. Against a hyper-aggressive, alienating Brian Flores defense, the decline was glaring; Detroit’s doubleheader backcourt of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery couldn’t make a difference and often ran into brick walls, and the Lions’ passing attack – once a high-flying operation – appeared only momentarily. In all, in its demise, Detroit bears little resemblance to the feared contender it was just four months ago. Now, the Lions head into a postseason-less offseason with clear needs to address — which could include tinkering with the offense and considering a new player.
- Vikings get just enough to sink the rival. With Max Brosmer in the lineup at the start of his second career, most everyone understood that their offensive expectations should be lowered. The results were in line with the plans for most of the game: At halftime, the Vikings were tied 7-7 with a 36-yard offense, and after three quarters, the total was just 70 yards. The offense finally broke through in the fourth quarter and iced the game with a goal Jordan Addison for a 65-yard touchdown, but even that game showed how difficult it was to succeed on offense. Fortunately, Minnesota’s defense shut down Detroit, reducing the need for much of the offense. The final numbers aren’t pretty — particularly Brosmer’s 9-for-16 for 51 yards — but considering how hamstrung the Vikings have been with an unreliable quarterback position in 2025 and how likely they were to have to work unconventionally this Christmas, they’ll take what they can get. On Thursday, a win would move them to .500.
Next Gen Stats Insights from Lions-Vikings (via NFL Pro): The Lions offense posted a season-high 29.7% completion percentage in their loss to the Vikings in Week 17. Their two lowest offensive percentages of 2025 came against the Vikings, against whom they posted a 33.9% completion percentage in Week 9.
NFL Research: With four catches for 30 yards, Justin Jefferson passed Randy Moss (8,375) for most yards by a player in his first six seasons.