Minnesota Vikings Snap Counts for Week 18 vs. Detroit Lions

The Minnesota Vikings had a chance to clinch the NFC North and No. 1 seed on Sunday night, but alas, the results did not go their way.

Instead, the Vikings struggled against the Detroit Lions, losing by a score of 31-9. It was one of the offense’s worst performances of the season, and the defense inevitably ran out of gas down the stretch, allowing Detroit to pull away.

With the game now in the rearview mirror, here is a look at the Vikings’ snap counts for the final game of the regular season.

Offense

• LT Cam Robinson (65)
• LG Blake Brandel (65)
• C Garrett Bradbury (65)
• RG Dalton Risner (65)
• RT Brian O’Neill (65)
• QB Sam Darnold (65)
• WR Justin Jefferson (64)
• WR Jordan Addison (58)
• TE T.J. Hockenson (51)
• RB Aaron Jones (40)
• WR Jalen Nailor (32)
• TE Josh Oliver (30)
• RB Cam Akers (20)
• FB C.J. Ham (12)
• WR Brandon Powell (6)
• WR Trent Sherfield (6)
• TE Johnny Mundt (6)

Sunday night was a very rough showing the Minnesota Vikings’ offense. Sam Darnold could not make a big throw at any point in the night, constantly sailing passes over the heads of his targets. Justin Jefferson also had a few plays where, while throws weren’t the best, it was still surprising to see him unable to haul them in for catches.

Jefferson finished the night with nine targets and totaled just three receptions for 54 yards, which still led the team. More concerning though is that Aaron Jones seemed to come out to the field late during the second half, indicating he may be dealing with some sort of nagging injury again. The running back totaled 10 carries for 45 yards.

Defense

• CB Byron Murphy (65)
• LB Blake Cashman (62)
• CB Stephon Gilmore (62)
• S Josh Metellus (61)
• S Harrison Smith (61)
• OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (56)
• DT Harrison Phillips (54)
• S Camryn Bynum (54)
• OLB Jonathan Greenard (53)
• DT Jonathan Bullard (47)
• LB Ivan Pace (30)
• DT Jihad Ward (28)
• DT Jerry Tillery (27)
• DT Jalen Redmond (26)
• OLB Dallas Turner (25)
• CB Shaquill Griffin (18)
• OLB Gabriel Murphy (7)
• S Theo Jackson (6)
• CB Dwight McGlothern (3)
• S Jay Ward (3)

The Vikings’ defense did a decent job of slowing down Detroit’s offense for much of the game, but in the end, it seemed like they simply ran out of gas due to a lack of production from Minnesota’s offense. The Lions had just 10 points up until there was 2:30 left in the third quarter, which is all you can really ask for against such an explosive offense.

Unfortunately, the fourth quarter didn’t go Minnesota’s way, but it ended up giving them an opportunity to get some young players on the field. Jalen Redmond played 26 snaps, Gabriel Murphy was on the field for seven plays, and Dwight McGlothern got three snaps.

Special Teams

• OLB Bo Richter (19)
• S Jay Ward (19)
• LB Brian Asamoah (19)
• S Theo Jackson (19)
• FB C.J. Ham (14)
• LB Kamu Grugier-Hill (14)
• WR Trent Sherfield (13)
• OLB Dallas Turner (12)
• LB Ivan Pace (10)
• S Josh Metellus (10)
• RB Ty Chandler (9)
• TE Josh Oliver (9)
• TE Johnny Mundt (9)
• K Will Reichard (8)
• P Ryan Wright (7)
• DT Jerry Tillery (7)
• LS Andrew DePaola (7)
• OLB Gabriel Murphy (5)
• DT Jalen Redmond (5)
• RB Cam Akers (5)
• DT Jihad Ward (5)
• IOL Ed Ingram (4)
• RG Daltron Risner (4)
• RT Brian O’Neill (4)
• LG Blake Brandel (4)
• LT Cam Robinson (4)
• OT David Quessenberry (4)
• CB Dwight McGlothern (2)
• WR Brandon Powell (2)

Vikings fans won’t feel any better about the history of the team’s kicking woes in the playoffs after Sunday night. Will Reichard missed another field goal attempt and had a mistake on a kickoff that led to points at the end of the first half for Detroit.

Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.