Conquer Club

6 takeaways from Lions’ frustrating loss to the Vikings

Welp, the season is over. Although there is still a game next week against the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions have nothing to play for but a winning record. Heading into the Christmas Day showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions still had the possibility of making the playoffs. What they needed was to win their next two games and have the Green Bay Packers lose their next two.

Detroit couldn’t even defeat Minnesota.

The offense chose to have its worst game of the season at the worst possible time, and the Vikings’ defense took advantage of it.

Here are my seven takeaways from the Lions’ Week 17 loss.

Once again, the offensive line struggled
Stop me if you heard this before, but the offensive line was the biggest reason for the loss this week. Things appeared to be headed in a good direction with center Graham Glasgow practicing. Christmas morning, though, it took a turn. Left tackle Taylor Decker popped up on the injury report with an illness and missed the game. Glasgow, despite practicing, didn’t play either, and suddenly the Lions had Dan Skipper at left tackle and Kingsley Eguakun at center.

As you might expect, the Lions’ offense struggled to move the ball no matter what they tried on Thursday afternoon. Quarterback Jared Goff was sacked five times, fumbled the ball three times due to a bad snap by Eguakun or an immense amount of pressure from the Vikings’ pass rush that couldn’t be stopped. During the game, right tackle Penei Sewell got injured and missed some time, replaced by Kayode Awosika, and eventually returned.

jusplay4fun wrote: Fri Dec 26, 2025 8:18 am Watching the game, Detroit vs. Minnesota, it was apparent to me that the Lions failed to BLOCK properly for their running game to be effective and they could not protect their passer/QB Jared Goff. Now the Lions have NO chance to get into the playoffs.

6 takeaways from Lions’ frustrating loss to the Vikings

Welp, the season is over. Although there is still a game next week against the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions have nothing to play for but a winning record. Heading into the Christmas Day showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions still had the possibility of making the playoffs. What they needed was to win their next two games and have the Green Bay Packers lose their next two.

Detroit couldn’t even defeat Minnesota.

The offense chose to have its worst game of the season at the worst possible time, and the Vikings’ defense took advantage of it.

Here are my seven takeaways from the Lions’ Week 17 loss.

Once again, the offensive line struggled
Stop me if you heard this before, but the offensive line was the biggest reason for the loss this week. Things appeared to be headed in a good direction with center Graham Glasgow practicing. Christmas morning, though, it took a turn. Left tackle Taylor Decker popped up on the injury report with an illness and missed the game. Glasgow, despite practicing, didn’t play either, and suddenly the Lions had Dan Skipper at left tackle and Kingsley Eguakun at center.

As you might expect, the Lions’ offense struggled to move the ball no matter what they tried on Thursday afternoon. Quarterback Jared Goff was sacked five times, fumbled the ball three times due to a bad snap by Eguakun or an immense amount of pressure from the Vikings’ pass rush that couldn’t be stopped. During the game, right tackle Penei Sewell got injured and missed some time, replaced by Kayode Awosika, and eventually returned.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/6-tak ... p_catchall

I did see one successful Detroit 4th down play, but that was not a decisive moment in the game. Also, full disclosure: I did not watch the entire game. I watched a bit of Denver vs KC; the Commanders vs. Cowboys held no real interest to me and I had more important things to do.

Lots of games this weekend to watch.

The Real Loser on Christmas Day, Was Netflix

Lions eliminated from playoffs after 23-10 loss to Vikings on Christmas
Portrait of Dave BirkettDave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
Updated Dec. 25, 2025, 10:35 p.m. ET

The Detroit Lions had a high-profile game against the NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, and it was the last chance for the Lions to keep their hopes alive for the postseason. Going into the game, the Lions had a 2% chance of making the postseason, according to NFL research, and a win would take them to 7% while a loss would drop them to less than 1%. (...)

With their loss to the Vikings on Christmas Day, the Detroit Lions are out of the playoffs. They just can’t mathematically make it anymore.

Even if they had won, they would have only had a slim chance of making it, but at least those hopes would have been alive until this weekend’s games.

Can Detroit Lions make the NFL playoffs? This 1 scenario must happen
Story by Detroit Free Press

Lions playoff odds
Entering Week 17:

The Lions have a 6% chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Lions a 4% chance, according to The Athletic's projection model.

The Lions have a 7% chance, according to ESPN Analytics.

same article:

The Detroit Lions playoff chances are hanging by a thread, down to one scenario entering their Christmas NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Two things must happen: The Lions must win Thursday evening in Minneapolis to thwart elimination for a few days, and then hope the Green Bay Packers lose on Saturday night.

jusplay4fun wrote: Fri Dec 26, 2025 4:19 pm As usual, ConfedSS has a way to "bend the facts" and then not want to admit that he is WRONG, again:

Lions eliminated from playoffs after 23-10 loss to Vikings on Christmas
Portrait of Dave BirkettDave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
Updated Dec. 25, 2025, 10:35 p.m. ET

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 914114007/

The Detroit Lions had a high-profile game against the NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, and it was the last chance for the Lions to keep their hopes alive for the postseason. Going into the game, the Lions had a 2% chance of making the postseason, according to NFL research, and a win would take them to 7% while a loss would drop them to less than 1%. (...)

With their loss to the Vikings on Christmas Day, the Detroit Lions are out of the playoffs. They just can’t mathematically make it anymore.

Even if they had won, they would have only had a slim chance of making it, but at least those hopes would have been alive until this weekend’s games.

https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/detroit-li ... game-loss/


and from:
Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
Thu, December 25, 2025 at 5:05 AM EST

Can Detroit Lions make the NFL playoffs? This 1 scenario must happen
Story by Detroit Free Press

Lions playoff odds
Entering Week 17:

The Lions have a 6% chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Lions a 4% chance, according to The Athletic's projection model.

The Lions have a 7% chance, according to ESPN Analytics.

same article:

The Detroit Lions playoff chances are hanging by a thread, down to one scenario entering their Christmas NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Two things must happen: The Lions must win Thursday evening in Minneapolis to thwart elimination for a few days, and then hope the Green Bay Packers lose on Saturday night.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/detro ... p_catchall

As usual Justpedophile4fun likes to take cheap shots and insults to one of his only allies in this forum...what's next telling karel he's a liar???

Pack Rat wrote: Fri Dec 26, 2025 4:33 pm

jusplay4fun wrote: Fri Dec 26, 2025 4:19 pm As usual, ConfedSS has a way to "bend the facts" and then not want to admit that he is WRONG, again:

Lions eliminated from playoffs after 23-10 loss to Vikings on Christmas
Portrait of Dave BirkettDave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
Updated Dec. 25, 2025, 10:35 p.m. ET

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 914114007/

The Detroit Lions had a high-profile game against the NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, and it was the last chance for the Lions to keep their hopes alive for the postseason. Going into the game, the Lions had a 2% chance of making the postseason, according to NFL research, and a win would take them to 7% while a loss would drop them to less than 1%. (...)

With their loss to the Vikings on Christmas Day, the Detroit Lions are out of the playoffs. They just can’t mathematically make it anymore.

Even if they had won, they would have only had a slim chance of making it, but at least those hopes would have been alive until this weekend’s games.

https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/detroit-li ... game-loss/


and from:
Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
Thu, December 25, 2025 at 5:05 AM EST

Can Detroit Lions make the NFL playoffs? This 1 scenario must happen
Story by Detroit Free Press

Lions playoff odds
Entering Week 17:

The Lions have a 6% chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Lions a 4% chance, according to The Athletic's projection model.

The Lions have a 7% chance, according to ESPN Analytics.

same article:

The Detroit Lions playoff chances are hanging by a thread, down to one scenario entering their Christmas NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Two things must happen: The Lions must win Thursday evening in Minneapolis to thwart elimination for a few days, and then hope the Green Bay Packers lose on Saturday night.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/detro ... p_catchall

As usual Justpedophile4fun likes to take cheap shots and insults to one of his only allies in this forum...what's next telling karel he's a liar???

one of his only allies

DirtyDishSoap wrote: Thu Jan 08, 2026 2:25 am John Harbaugh has been fired after 16 years. Not entirely sure if that was the wisest decision but we'll see how the ravens go next year.

DirtyDishSoap wrote: Thu Jan 08, 2026 2:25 am John Harbaugh has been fired after 16 years. Not entirely sure if that was the wisest decision but we'll see how the ravens go next year.

mookiemcgee wrote: Thu Jan 08, 2026 4:19 pm

DirtyDishSoap wrote: Thu Jan 08, 2026 2:25 am John Harbaugh has been fired after 16 years. Not entirely sure if that was the wisest decision but we'll see how the ravens go next year.

Yeah i have no problem with them parting ways, but the coach market feels pretty barren of great replacements this year so I question the timing. If I had to guess it's going to be either Mike Tomlin or Robert Salah next year. I think Salah would be a great culture fit for em

Robert Jalal Saleh[1] (born January 31, 1979) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024. Prior to joining the Jets, Saleh served as the defensive coordinator for the 49ers from 2017 to 2020.

Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the team in 2007, he has led them to 12 playoff appearances, seven division titles, three AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl appearances, and a title in Super Bowl XLIII. At age 36, Tomlin was the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl at the time. Never having a losing season, he holds the record for most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career with 19. Tomlin is also the longest-tenured head coach in the four major North American sports leagues.

When the Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 AFC Championship Game,[20] Tomlin became the youngest NFL head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl.[21] He also became the third African-American to coach a team to the Super Bowl, following Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis's Tony Dungy, the two opposing coaches in Super Bowl XLI. On January 29, 2009, Tomlin was named the 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year.[22] Three days later, at age 36, he became the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII by a score of 27–23.[23] The previous record was held by Jon Gruden, who was 39 when he won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coincidentally, Tomlin was the defensive backs coach under Gruden when the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl and was a key component in their success that year.[24] (...)

The 2021 season was particularly notable for Tomlin as it was the 18th and final season in which Ben Roethlisberger was under center for the Steelers.[62] Since Tomlin's hiring in 2007, the Steelers posted a record of 137–70–1 in games in which Roethlisberger was the starter.[63] Up until Roethlisberger's retirement in February 2022, Tomlin had only coached 95 games without him, achieving a record of 46–48–1.[64] (...)

On June 10, 2024, Tomlin signed a three-year contract extension to remain the Steelers' head coach through the 2027 season, making him the second longest tenured Steelers head coach of all time, only behind Chuck Noll by three seasons.[70]