Sometimes, when the offense is struggling, the defense needs to pick them up. On Christmas Day at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense not only picked up the offense, but they also carried them all the way into 2026 with some serious momentum.
Minnesota’s defense forced six turnovers from a Detroit Lions’ offense that had only had eight in their previous fifteen games this season, and Jordan Addison’s late touchdown sprint sealed the deal as the Vikings pulled off their second upset of the Detroit Lions of the season, taking a 23-10 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The first big play of the game came from the Minnesota defense, as Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff mishandled a snap deep in Detroit territory, and Andrew Van Ginkel fell on the fumble to give the Vikings’ offense the football inside the Detroit red zone late in the first quarter.
The Vikings’ offense took advantage of the short field, as Aaron Jones, who has been playing through a number of injuries, took a handoff on third-and-goal and went into the end zone from a yard out to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Lions then turned the ball over on their next possession as well, as Eric Wilson stripped the ball away from Jahmyr Gibbs, with Byron Murphy falling on the loose ball for another Detroit turnover.
The Vikings could not take advantage of that turnover, however, and wound up giving Detroit the ball back after a punt. The Lions then pushed into Minnesota territory and almost turned the ball over on downs on a 4th-and-1 play from the Minnesota 3-yard line, but David Montgomery just got the ball past the line to gain when Dan Campbell elected to go for it.
Detroit then found themselves facing fourth-and-goal again, and Dan Campbell once again kept the offense on the field. Goff then did something that no quarterback had done since Week 10: Threw a touchdown pass against the Minnesota defense. He found Isaac Teslaa in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard score, and the game was tied at 7-7 with just over a minute left before halftime. That’s how they went into the locker room after Max Brosmer was sacked for the fourth time in the first half.
Minnesota’s defense came up big again early in the third quarter, as Murphy intercepted Goff for the Vikings’ third turnover of the day.
The Vikings converted that turnover into the first field goal of the day for Will Reichard, who connected from 52 yards out to give the Vikings the lead back at 10-7 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. And on the Lions’ next offensive play, the Minnesota defense got Goff again, as the ageless Harrison Smith picked off Goff again for Detroit’s fourth turnover of the game.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they had to settle for another Reichard field goal, as he connected from 56 yards out to make it 13-7.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Vikings’ defense did it again, as Goff got himself sandwiched between Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner and fumbled the ball away with Jalen Redmond recovering for a fifth turnover for Minnesota’s defense.
Detroit got back to within three points with just under five minutes left in regulation, as Jake Bates connected on a 48-yard field goal to cut the gap to 13-10. The Vikings got the ball back, and after a short run on first down, the Vikings got a huge rushing play from an unlikely source, as Jordan Addison took an end-around handoff from Brosmer and streaked untouched 65 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-10 with just under four minutes left.
On the ensuing drive, the Lions then had a sixth turnover when a shotgun snap went over Goff’s head, and he lost a race to the ball to Van Ginkel for another takeaway for Minnesota’s defense.
After that, the Vikings got into position for another Reichard field goal, this one a 42-yarder to increase the lead to 23-10 with just over a minute left to play. The Lions couldn’t generate any more points, and that’s how the score stood when the final gun went off.
The victory for the Vikings is their fourth in a row and got their record back to .500 at 8-8. The loss also drops Detroit to 8-8 on the season and officially elminates them from postseason contention. It also means that the Vikings have, indirectly, put their rivals from Green Bay into the playoffs, as Detroit’s loss has secured a playoff spot for the Packers, who now have nothing to play for when they come to U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 18 to finish the regular season.
The Minnesota Vikings, for the second time in this 2025 season, have upset the Detroit Lions as a significant underdog, emerging victorious on Christmas Day by a final score of 23-10. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of today’s game during this short week right here at The Daily Norseman, and we want to once again wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas!
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