The Minnesota Vikings had nothing to play for against the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, as they were officially eliminated from playoff contention a little under two weeks ago.
But NFL players are prideful people, and the Vikes were always going to come out on Thursday and give it their all. Of course, knowing they could eliminate the Lions from playoff contention with a win at U.S. Bank Stadium certainly didn't hurt from a motivational standpoint.
And behind a stellar performance from Brian Flores' defense, which forced a season-high six turnovers, the Vikes did indeed crush the postseason hopes of their longtime rivals, taking a 23-10 victory to up their winning streak to four and improve to 8-8 for the season.
The Minnesota offense struggled at times, getting just 51 passing yards from Max Brosmer, who was filling in for the injured J.J. McCarthy, and just 161 total yards overall. But at least Brosmer & Co. played turnover-free football. As such, Thursday marked just the second time in franchise history and the first time in 50 years that the Vikings recorded at least six takeaways and zero turnovers.
The Minnesota Vikings had six takeaways and no turnovers for the first time since November 1975
The only other time the Vikings have had at least six takeaways and no turnovers was on November 9, 1975, when the Minnesota defense forced the Atlanta Falcons into eight turnovers en route to a 38-0 victory at the old Metropolitan Stadium.
Six obviously isn't eight, but Thursday's outing was obviously still fantastic, as the Vikings made life absolutely miserable for Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who was intercepted by Byron Murphy Jr. and Harrison Smith, took five sacks, and was responsible for three of the Lions' four lost fumbles, the other coming from Jahmyr Gibbs.
Smith, who recorded one of those five sacks to go along with his interception and also tallied three pass deflections, two tackles for loss, and a QB hit in what may have been the penultimate game of his career, was ecstatic with the way he and his teammates performed.
"When you can get out there with a defense like that and a play-caller like that, it’s just fun. I don’t care what day it is. I don’t care what’s on the line. I don’t care what’s at stake. We play a really aggressive style of football that I absolutely love," Smith said afterward.
The Vikings will close their 2025 season next Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, who benefited greatly from Minnesota's win, as the Detroit loss officially got Green Bay into the postseason.