Vikes “Grinch” the Lions on Christmas Day
Vikings Territory Breakdown Podcast
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said before the game against that Detroit Lions that he wanted his team to be the Grim Reapers and wield a death knell to the visiting Lions’ playoffs hopes. And while they did that with a 23-10 victory, a more appropriate guise would have been The Grinch (in the first act of that famous holiday program), as the Vikings defense took away all the Lions’ holiday cheer by creating six turnovers—and giving none of them back. Quarterback Max Brosmer, filling in for the injured J.J. McCarthy, suffered seven sacks in the game but did not turnover the ball on his way to his first victory as an NFL signal caller.
To be sure, Brosmer and the Vikings amassed just 51 yards passing, resulting in a net 3 yards, and the rushing game picked up the slack (compiling a total of 158 yards on the ground). But, it was the defense that actually carried the day and led the Purple to victory. The Lions came into the game averaging 378 yards of offense, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ unit held the Lions to just 231 yards and showed them the door with a very dominate performance. He said before the game his defense is playing the best they had all season, and it showed with a number of winning performances from the likes Harrison Smith, Andrew van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Eric Wilson and others.
To be certain, the victory comes well after the Purle’s postseason hopes had wilted, but it marks a fourth consecutive win, brings their record to 8-8 and lifts them out of the basement of the NFC North Division, ahead of the Lions, who the Vikings swept this season and lead them due to a tie breaker. (Did the Vikings regain their dominant edge over the Lions as decades past? Perhaps we need to see how that plays out for a while.)
Regardless, the Vikings won the day as reapers, “grinchers” or spoilers, and have the chance to finish the season with a flourish next weekend against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Packers have locked in their Wild Card spot at No. 7, so, who is to say the Vikings won’t give their fans one more bauble, given the way the defense is playing? The fellas at the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast, Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com) are here to discuss it all. Tune in and check it out. Skol!
