Defense dominates Christmas. Minnesota’s last month has largely been defined by Brian Flores’ defense, a unit that made Week 16 into a nightmare for Jaxson Dart and the Giants, kept the Cowboys at bay and held the Commanders off the scoreboard entirely. On paper, Detroit presented a different challenge, yet it didn’t matter to the Vikings, an opportunistic team that nearly doubled Detroit’s season-long giveaways total (8) in one game, racking up six takeaways to repeatedly deny the Lions the chance to close the gap. Minnesota held Detroit to an offensive success rate below 30%, according to Next Gen Stats, and to 5 of 14 on third down. Prior to their desperate final drive, the Lions had a grand total of 174 yards through 56 minutes of action, a number that pales in comparison to the standard they’d set for most of the last two seasons — and points directly toward the successes the Vikings have enjoyed defensively in December. Minnesota’s playoff chances evaporated before Christmas, but the Vikings are finishing this disappointing season on a positive note, a good way to head into the offseason.Lions go out quietly. In a must-win game, Detroit found every way to lose. The Lions committed six turnovers, with Jared Goff responsible for five of them (two interceptions, three lost fumbles). Every time Detroit seemed to be building even the slightest bit of momentum, a turnover ended its chances, sometimes in embarrassing fashion (just watch a couple of the botched-snap Goff fumbles for proof). It wasn’t typical of a Lions franchise that has risen to title contender status in the NFC over the last few years, but it was too familiar for the late-2025 Lions, who have failed to overcome personnel losses on both sides of the ball and completely lost their ability to establish the run, severely limiting their offensive potential. Against an ultra-aggressive, exotic Brian Flores defense, the decline was glaring; Detroit’s two-headed backfield of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery couldn’t make a difference and frequently ran into brick walls, and the Lions’ passing attack — once a high-flying operation — only appeared in momentary spurts. In total, in its demise, Detroit looked little like the feared contender it was just four months ago. Now, the Lions head into a postseason-less offseason with clear needs to address — which might include tinkering with the offense and considering a new play-caller.Vikings get just enough to sink rival. With Max Brosmer in the lineup for just his second-career start, most everyone understood their offensive expectations should be lowered. The results matched the projections for most of the game: At halftime, the Vikings were tied, 7-7, with 36 total yards of offense, and after three quarters, that total stood at a mere 70 yards. The offense finally broke through in the fourth quarter, icing the game with an end around to Jordan Addison for a 65-yard touchdown, but even that play illustrated how difficult it was to find success offensively. Fortunately, Minnesota’s defense shut down Detroit, decreasing the need for much from the offense. The final numbers aren’t pretty — especially Brosmer’s line of 9-for-16 for 51 yards — but given how hamstrung the Vikings have been by their unreliable quarterback situation in 2025 and how likely it was they’d have to win in non-traditional ways on Christmas, they’ll take whatever they can get. On Thursday, it was a win to move them to .500.
Next Gen Stats Insight from Lions-Vikings (via NFL Pro): The Lions offense recorded a season-low 29.7% success rate in their Week 17 loss to the Vikings. Their two lowest offensive outputs in 2025 came against the Vikings, against whom they posted a 33.9% success rate in Week 9.
NFL Research: With four catches for 30 yards, Justin Jefferson passed Randy Moss (8,375) for the most receiving yards by a player his first six seasons.