The NFL season was one full of thrills and records. Whether it be one of the closest Wild Card races seen in recent memory, or rookie records being broken left and right, the NFL closed the regular season in the most heart-racing way possible, with a supposedly dramatic finale between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams went into the game with 14 wins, which has never happened in the National Football League’s history. The matchup winner gains the first seed in the NFC, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs. The loser falls to the fifth seed, plays in the wild-card round, and goes on the road for the entire playoffs. The stakes for a regular season game had never been higher with both teams looking to knock the other off. The Lions won the first matchup 31-29 earlier in the season on the back of stellar Running Back Jhamyr Gibbs who had over 100 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns in the bout. A similar outcome was predicted, as almost all analysts assumed it would be a close and high-scoring game. But what we got was an absolute whopping of the Vikings on Sunday Night Football.
The Vikings entered Ford Field as a 3-point underdog, with an offense that rivaled Detroit’s own and was projected to tear apart the injury-ridden Lion’s defense, but due to masterful coaching by Aaron Glenn, the Lions were able to match up perfectly against Minnesota and hold them to zero touchdowns. What’s more impressive is that the Vikings had 4 red zone trips, and none of them ended up being touchdowns, even though they average a 55% chance of scoring once they enter the red zone. Star receiver Justin Jefferson was projected to burn the Lions injured secondary, but little did he know that Amir Robertson, a slot corner who moved to the boundary, would put the clamps on him all night. Robertson held Jefferson to 3 catches for 54 yards on over 30 route runs and 9 targets, a stark difference from Jefferson’s average of 90 yards and 6 receptions per game. Robertson has been a diamond in the rough for the Lions, beginning his career as a 4th round pick in 2020 and only had a small role through his first 5 years, but this season he has stepped up and played as a top corner in the league to keep the lions afloat. The other part of the Lion’s defensive success was the re-entry of their Captain Linebacker, Alex Anzalone, and his defensive prowess. The Lions’ defense has hobbled along these past few weeks, allowing over 30 points per game and just being a punching bag for opposing offense through December, but the Lions on Sunday night were another kind of animal. They were tearing through the entirety of the Vikings, whether that be the offensive line, running backs, or even the QB, the Lions were anywhere and everywhere for all 4-quarters. All signs of this revamped defense pointed to the return of Anzalone, as with his re-addition the Lions held one of the better offenses in the league to a measly 9 points. This sign of life in the defense bodes well for Detroit, as their biggest flaw called out by analysts and reporters, is their defense. People are scared due to a plethora of top-tier starters like Aiden Hutchinson being out for the playoffs, but with the statement win last night, the worries have been washed away.
The Lion’s offense was classic Lions; their constant ground-and-pound, beat-em-up style of play allowed them to take over this NFC North matchup. There’s one player to credit for it: Jhamyr Gibbs. Gibbs had a career game, with 170 total yards and 4 total touchdowns. Whether it was through the air or on the ground, Gibbs was unstoppable, constantly chopping his feet and using his 4.25 40-yard speed to blast through holes and zip around the field untouched. Gibbs was the Lion’s workhorse and they made sure to use him in every way possible to demoralize the Vikings into submission. Toward the end of the game, Minnesota seemed defeated in their attempts to stop Gibbs, which culminated in his final touchdown, in which almost the entire Minnesota team attempted to tackle Gibbs, yet he drove through all of it to get a 6-yard touchdown rush. Critics of the Lions were scared of Gibbs gaining the reins to the running back room due to David Montgomery’s leg injury, but clearly the fear is unnecessary as the Lions look like the best team in the league after the 31-9 statement win against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions will now have 2 weeks to rest up and prepare themselves for the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
