Daily Norseman
Sometimes, when the offense is struggling, the defense needs to pick them up. On Christmas Day at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense not only picked up the offense, but they also carried them all the way into 2026 with some serious momentum.
Minnesota’s defense forced six turnovers from a Detroit Lions’ offense that had only had eight in their previous fifteen games this season, and Jordan Addison’s late touchdown sprint sealed the deal as the Vikings pulled off their second upset of the Detroit Lions of the season, taking a 23-10 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The first big play of the game came from the Minnesota defense, as Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff mishandled a snap deep in Detroit territory, and Andrew Van Ginkel fell on the fumble to give the Vikings’ offense the football inside the Detroit red zone late in the first quarter.
The Vikings’ offense took advantage of the short field, as Aaron Jones, who has been playing through a number of injuries, took a handoff on third-and-goal and went into the end zone from a yard out to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Lions then turned the ball over on their next possession as well, as Eric Wilson stripped the ball away from Jahmyr Gibbs, with Byron Murphy falling on the loose ball for another Detroit turnover.
The Vikings could not take advantage of that turnover, however, and wound up giving Detroit the ball back after a punt. The Lions then pushed into Minnesota territory and almost turned the ball over on downs on a 4th-and-1 play from the Minnesota 3-yard line, but David Montgomery just got the ball past the line to gain when Dan Campbell elected to go for it.
Detroit then found themselves facing fourth-and-goal again, and Dan Campbell once again kept the offense on the field. Goff then did something that no quarterback had done since Week 10: Threw a touchdown pass against the Minnesota defense. He found Isaac Teslaa in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard score, and the game was tied at 7-7 with just over a minute left before halftime. That’s how they went into the locker room after Max Brosmer was sacked for the fourth time in the first half.
Minnesota’s defense came up big again early in the third quarter, as Murphy intercepted Goff for the Vikings’ third turnover of the day.
The Vikings converted that turnover into the first field goal of the day for Will Reichard, who connected from 52 yards out to give the Vikings the lead back at 10-7 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. And on the Lions’ next offensive play, the Minnesota defense got Goff again, as the ageless Harrison Smith picked off Goff again for Detroit’s fourth turnover of the game.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they had to settle for another Reichard field goal, as he...
