Our Official Prediction for Lions at Vikings on Christmas
It’s down to two games for the Minnesota Vikings, and this go-round, the purple team, along with the Detroit Lions, will fight to avoid last place in the NFC North. A year ago, the two clubs fought for homefield advantage throughout the postseason. Times have changed, and we have predictions for this particular contest.
With Detroit in desperation mode and Minnesota playing spoiler, this one feels less about “standings” and more about who can survive the mess for four quarters.
Our staff is not high on the Vikings this week, mainly because undrafted free-agent rookie quarterback Max Brosmer will be under center. Nevertheless, these are our predictions.
Christmas Stakes: Vikings in Spoiler Mode
The Vikings can eliminate the Lions from postseason contention on Christmas.
Writers’ Individual Score Picks
Just as the panel had extreme enthusiasm last week, that same zest has diminished equally in Week 17. The group expected the Lions to prevail, sadly enough.
Here are score prognostications:
Dustin Baker: DET Wins, 30-17
Sean Borman: DET Wins, 28-20
Janik Eckardt: DET Wins, 27-17
Josh Frey: DET Wins, 31-13
Henrique Gucciardi: MIN Wins, 17-14
Wesley Johnson: DET Wins, 27-17
Kyle Joudry: DET Wins, 27-13
Adam New: DET Wins, 20-13
Tony Schultz: DET Wins, 31-20
Ted Schwerzler: DET Wins, 28-17
Ali Siddiqui: DET Wins, 24-13
Cole Smith: DET Wins, 21-13
Last week, Sean Borman most accurately predicted the outcome, choosing Minnesota to prevail by a touchdown. When it was all said and done, the score was much closer than our writers expected, and the Vikings won by three.
Standings for 2025
After the entire gang predicted a Vikings dub in New York, all standings improved. Here’s a look at the lay of the land after 16 weeks:
Sean Borman: 9-6
Janik Eckardt: 9-6
Ted Schwerzler: 9-6
Ali Siddiqui: 9-6
Kyle Joudry: 8-7
Cole Smith: 8-7
Dustin Baker: 7-8
Adam New: 7-8
Josh Frey: 7-8
Wes Johnson: 7-8
Henrique Gucciardi: 7-8
Tony Schultz: 6-9
It was the first time all year — and in quite some time — that the entire panel nailed the prediction, probably because the Giants are so lousy. The week turned out be a get-right situation for the panel.
The Collective Predictions from Our Staff
The Lions are in desperation mode, needing to beat the Vikings on Christmas, while asking the Green Bay Packers to lose to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday and the Vikings in Week 18. They have something to play for, albeit minuscule playoff hopes, and Minnesota can deliver the knockout blow with a win.
As a collective voice, we believe Minnesota will lose to Detroit by a score of 26-16.
Other Picks
Pride of Detroit‘s Brandon Knapp believes the Lions will explode for five or more sacks on Brosmer.
Brandon Knapp explained, “Despite being a top-10 team in sacks this season (41), the Lions’ pass rush still doesn’t seem complete. Edge defender Aidan Hutchinson has 11.5 sacks on the year, still being one of the top pass rushers in the NFL, but he still doesn’t look like he’s up to his standard level this year.”
“Al-Quadin Muhammad is having a career-year with nine sacks, putting half of the sack total on those two players. The interior pass rush hasn’t been what many expected, forcing the linebackers to have to do more of the cleaning up, as four linebackers are have a combined 11.5 sacks.”
The Vikings’ offensive line will be missing at least two starters in left tackle Christian Darrisaw and center Ryan Kelly.
“The pass rush hasn’t been much of a threat up the middle, despite having some strong dudes there like Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams. Injuries have also been a factor once again as Detroit has been without McNeill for the first six games of the season and Marcus Davenport has missed nine games,” Knapp continued.
“You also can’t forget the team losing defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike before the season started, as well as EDGE Josh Paschal who had a setback in his possible return, and rookie Ahmed Hassanein was released and re-signed after getting hurt in the preseason.”
SI.com‘s Peter Dewey picked Minnesota to cover the 7.5-point spread: “The Lions have struggled against the spread all season long, and while this is a must-win matchup, the Vikings are a top-10 defense in EPA/Play. So, even if the Minnesota offense isn’t rolling, I think it can keep the Lions in check enough in this matchup.”
“Brosmer completed 77.8 percent of his passes (albeit against the New York Giants) in Week 16, and he could potentially manage the Vikings to a cover in this game. Detroit has struggled on the road (3-4 against the spread), and it has a ton of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. In a short week, I love getting the points on Christmas.”
Minnesota has dropped five of its last six matchups against Detroit.
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