Heroes and Zeros Emerge after Vikings Take Down Lions
In a game that featured 3 net passing yards for the Minnesota Vikings and six giveaways by the Detroit Lions, the purple team prevailed 23-10, ending Dan Campbell’s once-promising season. Along the way, winners and losers emerged.
Minnesota didn’t win with offensive fireworks — it won with defensive control, sweet takeaways, and a few individual performances that swung the game and the conversation in opposite directions.
The Vikings have one game left in Week 18, a home showdown against the Green Bay Packers, but let’s peek at heroes and zeroes from Week 17.
The Performances That Defined the Vikings’ Win Over Detroit
Minnesota wins by two scores in a rather memorable game, all things considered.
Hero: Harrison Smith
For a stretch in the middle of the season, Harrison Smith looked closer to the end than the future. The tape suggested a veteran running out of runway. Now, that has changed. Smith has stabilized, then surged, settling into a role that still fits — targeted usage and tangible impact.
Retirement still feels like the most likely outcome next month, but the play no longer demands it. If Smith chose to return in 2026 as a situational defender, the evidence is there. On Christmas, he didn’t just hold up. The guy thrived.
Smith delivered 3 tackles, 3 passes defended, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception — a remarkable game for anybody, but particularly a 36-year-old safety. What a way to wind down the final chapters.
The Viking Age‘s Adam Carlson noted on Smith, “This is likely to be Harrison Smith’s last season in the NFL, but the Minnesota Vikings’ veteran safety looked like a kid playing out there on Thursday.”
“He only had three tackles in the game, but made a huge impact by defending three passes, one of which was a momentum-changing interception that helped to alter the tone of the game.”
Zero: Max Brosmer
Brosmer logged a 9.0 QBR from ESPN, which was better than his 5.0 at Seattle a few weeks ago.
The guy simply can’t play in the NFL, at least not yet, and the Vikings would’ve demolished the Lions if they had an average quarterback under center. Brosmer probably still has time to develop, but Minnesota should treat him as a QB3 candidate next year, not as J.J. McCarthy’s primary backup.
His team finished with 3 net passing yards in a 13-point win. Hard to believe.
Hero: Andrew Van Ginkel
Van Ginkel’s stat line was similar to Smith’s, posting 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, a QB hit, and a half-sack that he shared with Dallas Turner.
The man is quietly nearing the age of 30, but he just doesn’t play like it. Van Ginkel also fetched a handsome extension during the most recent offseason, so he’ll be attached to the Vikings’ defense for an extra year or two. After straightening out some concussion and neck issues at the beginning of the season, Van Ginkel has returned to his 2024 Pro Bowl form, and that was in plain view on Christmas.
Zero: The Lions’ Super Bowl Window
Optimism in Detroit will insist the window remains open. The numbers argue otherwise. Jared Goff’s cap hit is set to jump to roughly $70 million next season, a near-$40 million spike year over year, turning roster flexibility into a constraint and raising the degree of difficulty across the board.
Detroit also has just $5 million to spend on free agents. Team building won’t be as friendly with the so-called Super Bowl window.
The Lions missing the postseason and perhaps finishing in last place inside the NFC North is a wild change of pace from their 2023 and 2024 shine. The shine may not be recoverable.
It won’t be possible until after June 1, 2026, for salary cap reasons, but the Lions might be best served by trading Goff and restarting on the fly. He’s not worth a $70 million cap hit. Goff has the Kirk Cousins stigma: good but not elite — and also expensive.
Fox Sports on the Lions’ Super Bowl window: “Is the Detroit Lions’ Super Bowl window closed? To return to their previous level, the Lions must find another ceiling-raising offensive coordinator. One that can take care of that unit while Campbell focuses on the holistic culture of the organization.”
Zero: Brian Flores
Flores had not had tremendous success with the Lions in 2023 and 2024. But something changed this season, wholly solving Campbell’s offense in two games and doing so emphatically. Perhaps Ben Johnson could outdo Flores, but Campbell cannot.
Minnesota turned in one of its best defensive performances in recent memory, even more ferocious and productive than some of the vintage Zimmer defenses. The rate of takeaways was truly mind-boggling.
Flores and friends forced the aforementioned 6 turnovers and generally flustered Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs. And Gibbs is a habitual Viking killer. Flores was in his bag, and it worked out marvelously for him, because a national audience saw him strut his stuff, with the head coaching carousel due to heat up in about a week and a half. For example, if the Cincinnati Bengals fire Zac Taylor, Flores would cook with Joe Burrow and Co.
The Vikings’ defensive boss is arguably the foremost winner of Christmas. He was the Lions’ Grinch.
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