The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are set to square off next week in a season finale showdown for the NFC North division title. With everything on the line, the game will have the undivided attention of America’s football fans.
The Vikings secured a crucial victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, improving to 14-2 and moving a half-game ahead of the Lions in the division standings. Regardless of the outcome of Detroit’s Monday Night Football matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota’s win guarantees that next week’s game will determine the division champion.
On December 29, the NFL announced that the game would be flexed to Sunday night’s primetime slot, reserved for the week’s most significant matchup.
Lions Host Primetime Game
As Benjamin Raven of MLive.com highlighted, the Lions-Vikings clash is shaping up to be an epic showdown, with both teams among the league’s elite.
“It’s as juicy of a late-season matchup as possible, with two of the NFL’s hottest teams facing off with everything on the line for Game 272,” Raven wrote. “The league leaves the final week as flexible as possible, with every game listed as ‘TBD’ until after Week 17.”
Raven also noted the Lions’ historic season, with the team boasting a 5-0 record in the NFC North heading into the finale.
“The Lions are enjoying their best regular season of all time, running the table in the NFC North and on the road to this point,” Raven wrote. “But the Vikings have kept the pressure on all year long, not losing since Week 8, and they just beat the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 to set up this big game.”
The stakes could be even higher depending on Monday’s outcome. If Detroit defeats San Francisco, the winner of next week’s game will claim the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The loser, meanwhile, would become the first 14-win wild card team in NFL history.
The game also carries historic weight. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted that such matchups between two teams with records this strong are incredibly rare.
“Sunday’s game in Detroit will be only the 4th in NFL history between two teams that are both 10+ games above .500, per @EliasSports,” Seifert wrote in a post on X.
No Rest for Weary Lions
While the Lions won’t have the luxury of resting starters in Week 18, a victory over the Vikings would secure them a critical bye week in the playoffs, allowing time for players to recover. As Billy Riccette of USA Today’s Lions Wire reported, Detroit could get a key offensive player back for the postseason.
Running back David Montgomery, who is sidelined with a knee injury, is expected to return in two weeks. A first-round bye would ensure his availability for the Divisional Round.
“The hope is for Montgomery to return for the Divisional Round, giving the Lions a little more incentive to land the No. 1 seed and the first-round bye, which they can clinch this week with a win and a Vikings loss against the Packers,” Riccette wrote.