It all came down to this. The Minnesota Vikings hit the road in the regular season finale to take on the Detroit Lions in a game that would determine the winner of the NFC North and the team who would get the top seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Sadly, the Vikings came up short in the Sunday Night Football showdown. Minnesota was on the losing side of the battle 9-31 and will now hit the road in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to have a rematch with the Los Angeles Rams.
Before looking too far ahead to the postseason, let's take a look at five players who made an impact on the big Week 18 game and whether they contributed in a positive or negative way to the outcome of the contest.
3 winners (and 2 losers) from the Vikings in Week 18 loss to the Lions
Vikings winner No. 1: Ivan Pace Jr., linebacker
Minnesota's defense is the only reason the Vikings were in the game in the first half. One player who had a good game for the purple and gold was interior linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. Making plays all over the field, Pace helped to limit the Detroit offense to only ten points at halftime.
Pace led the team with ten combined tackles in the game, with five of those being solo efforts and one for a loss. He was also the recipient of a Jared Goff pass tipped by Josh Metellus that gave the team a takeaway in every game this season.
Vikings loser No. 1: Sam Darnold, quarterback
A lot of talk has been made about what the Minnesota Vikings need to do with Sam Darnold after this season, but some study needs to be done on what happened to the quarterback in what was likely the biggest game of his career thus far.
Darnold looked shaky and anxious behind a struggling Vikings offensive line. Detroit hit Darnold ten times on the day, sacking him twice. Minnesota's quarterback also only completed 18 of his 41 pass attempts for 166 yards and failed to throw a touchdown pass despite multiple trips to the red zone.
Vikings winner No. 2: Jalen Nailor, wide receiver
It was easy to tell the plan the Lions had to counter Minnesota's offense. They paid close attention to Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson while forcing the Vikings to find other ways to beat Detroit's defense.
In a game where Jordan Addison got shut out and Hockenson only had nine yards, Jalen Nailor caught three passes on four targets from Sam Darnold for 53 receiving yards, the second-most on the team.
Vikings loser No. 2: Jordan Addison, wide receiver
As stated above, Jordan Addison didn't have a single catch on Sunday night. He only had one target in the game, but he struggled to create separation and be productive against a beat-up Detroit defense.
Minnesota struggled mightily to move the ball against the Lions. There were many contributing factors to the lack of production, but not being able to get their No. 2 weapon involved hurt the Vikings in a big way.
Vikings winner No. 3: Jonathan Greenard, edge rusher
The Lions ran away with the game in the second half, but the defense held its own until Gibbs' offensive explosions finished them off. One defender who had a solid game on the edge was Jonathan Greenard.
Minnesota had six hits on Jared Goff on the day and two of those came from Greenard. He also had five tackles on the day with four of those being solo efforts and two going for a loss. He has proven himself to be a reliable player every week.