Defense fuels Vikings' holiday victory! Five turnovers shatter Lions' playoff dreams as ground game and special teams secure a dominant Christmas Day triumph.
The Minnesota Vikings earned a big Christmas Day win at home against the Detroit Lions, 23-10. It was a game the Vikings struck first with an Aaron Jones touchdown and then, from there, the rest of the first half unfolded slowly. Detroit’s only touchdown of the entire game came in the second quarter, when Jared Goff threw a short touchdown pass to tie it 7-7 early in the second quarter.
But a pair of field goals from Will Reichard, both from 50-plus in the third quarter, turned what had been a slow, tied game into a 13-7 Vikings lead. Then Jordan Addison ripped off a huge 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to blow it open. Reichard tacked on another field goal late to push it to 23-10, which was the final.
The real story, though, was the defense. The Vikings generated six turnovers, including interceptions by both Harrison Smith and Byron Murphy Jr., plus a fumble recovery that helped them control the second half and repeatedly put their offense in short-field situations. Detroit needed a clean game to keep any playoff hopes alive, but Minnesota played the role of spoiler and made sure the Lions never found rhythm.
The interesting part is that Minnesota won the way it did with basically no passing offense. With J.J. McCarthy out, Max Brosmer threw the ball 16 times, completed nine passes for just 51 yards, and was sacked seven times, and the Vikings still put up 23 points. The ground game and field position did all the heavy lifting. Aaron Jones logged 18 touches for 53 yards and that early touchdown, while Addison’s one run for 65 yards was the game-breaker that finally created separation.
From here, the Vikings close out their season against the Green Bay Packers. And while that game is similarly inconsequential to Minnesota’s bigger picture since the Vikings are eliminated, it’s still a divisional matchup they’ll want to finish strong.