Lions vs. Vikings : Fans of the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and a few other teams believe that next season will be just as good as this season. Maybe even better.
It is possible. But as most teams that play on Christmas will tell you, nothing in the NFL is guaranteed year after year.
A little less than a year ago, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings met in the biggest regular-season matchup in many years. Both teams were ahead 14-2 and the NFC North title was at stake. Watching the Lions team fumble the ball on Thursday and the Vikings run an incompetent offense with an undrafted rookie quarterback, it seemed like a very long time ago.
Netflix reportedly paid $150 million per year for Christmas NFL games, but it may be looking for its receipt for a refund. The Vikings won 23-10 against the Lions despite having 3 net passing yards. The Vikings didn’t get into positive net passing yardage until there was less than three minutes left in the game.
It was close until then, when wide receiver Jordan Addison took a jet sweep to the right and broke it down the sideline, flying over the pylon for a 65-yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 10-point lead.
Four of the six teams playing on Christmas were eliminated from the playoffs and the fifth team, the Lions, barely survived. With this loss, Detroit was officially eliminated from the playoffs. Losing to a team that couldn’t play any kind of game, even a passing game, was an unfair way to end the season.
This was an ugly game between two very flawed teams. Both teams were expected to reach the playoffs this season but nothing went according to plan. This is a cautionary tale for all playoff teams in 2025. Enjoy the ride now because it could look unexpectedly much worse by next Christmas.
Vikings and Lions tied at halftime.
Normal teams can still play competitive, fun games, but each team faced some problems in the first half.
The Lions lost two fumbles early. One came on third-and-1 when Goff mishandled the snap, and the Vikings pounced on the loose ball at Detroit’s 16-yard line. A few plays later Aaron Jones Sr. ran for a 1-yard touchdown.
The lead remained 7-0 until the end of the second quarter. The Lions won on fourth down with a little more than a minute left in the half and Goff hit a leaping Isaac Tesla for a touchdown to tie the game.
Even against a poor showing from the Lions defense, the Vikings couldn’t move the ball. At halftime, the Vikings had -12 net passing yards. Brosmer threw too many interceptions in his first NFL start, and the second time around he wasn’t completing passes to either team. Minnesota had a bad 36-yard attack at halftime.
Sam Darnold was the Vikings’ quarterback last season. He has helped Seattle build an NFL-best 12-3 record this season. The thought probably crossed the minds of Minnesota fans on Christmas, when they watched their team punt on four of five field goals in the first half.
And yet, with the Lions themselves not being good, the Vikings were tied 7-7 at halftime.
Both offenses struggle.
Jared Goff threw interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter. And on the next two drives, the Vikings gained 27 combined yards and settled for two long field goals. This was enough to give them a 13-7 lead.
On Detroit’s next possession, Goff was pressured from both sides when both of his tackles hit blocks, and he was hit and lost a fumble. The Lions were the highest-scoring offense in the NFL last season, the fourth-highest scoring offense in NFL history with 564 points, and they barely managed any first downs on Thursday.
Detroit made a field goal with 4:39 left to cut Minnesota’s lead to 13-10. Then Minnesota made the first big play in the offensive game and put it away. Receiver Jordan Addison took a jet sweep to the right and broke it down the sideline, flying over the pylon for a 65-yard touchdown to give Minnesota a 10-point lead.
Then, while Goff couldn’t catch a shotgun snap and the Vikings recovered, which was the perfect way to end a poor performance, the Lions lost another fumble. According to the Netflix broadcast, the Lions committed six turnovers in a game for the first time since 2015.
The Vikings defense played very well, as it has in recent weeks. Both teams are tied at 8-8 with one match left. Every team will probably be happy when the season ends. After watching Thursday’s game, it’s hard to believe that these were two of the best teams in football last season. But things can change faster than you expect in the NFL.