Behind all-time defensive performance, Vikings end Lions' playoff hopes

In completely unorthodox fashion, the Minnesota Vikings just won their fourth game in a row and knocked one of their biggest rivals out of playoff contention.

The Vikings' rampaging defense forced an incredible six takeaways, which was enough to make up for an anemic quarterback and offensive line performance in a 20-10 win over the Lions on Christmas Day at U.S. Bank Stadium. The win completes a sweep for the Vikings over Detroit and eliminates the Lions for the hunt for a wild card spot. With both teams 8-8, Minnesota is now in third place in the NFC North with one week left.

This was an all-time performance from the Vikings' defense and an utterly unwatchable performance from the Vikings' offense.

The defense is the bigger story. The Lions came into this game having turned the ball over eight times all year, which was fewest in the NFL. They nearly doubled that total over the course of this game. Brian Flores' defense was absolutely dominant with five sacks, two interceptions, and four recovered fumbles.

The list of Vikings defenders who had huge games is a long one:

Harrison Smith had his 39th career interception, a sack, another tackle for loss, and two batted passes.
Andrew Van Ginkel had 1.5 sacks and recovered two fumbles on botched Lions snaps.
Jalen Redmond had a tackle for loss, a batted pass, and a fumble recovery.
Byron Murphy Jr. had an interception and a fumble recovery.
Dallas Turner had a forced fumble and half of a sack, among several pressures.
Blake Cashman had 17 tackles, including a sack.
Eric Wilson forced a fumble.
Theo Jackson had a sack.

Offensively, it was extremely rough. Max Brosmer, starting in place of J.J. McCarthy, had 51 passing yards and lost 48 yards on seven sacks. That's a net passing yardage total of plus-3, the lowest by a winning team since 2006. Brosmer held onto the ball for too long and was under constant duress behind an offensive line playing three backups.

But with a defensive performance like that, the Vikings didn't need much on offense. Aaron Jones ran for 53 yards and an early touchdown, and the game was sealed when Jordan Addison took an end-around 65 yards to the house in the fourth quarter. Will Reichard hit all three of his field goal attempts, including two from beyond 50 yards.

Game rewind

The Vikings got off to a good start, all thanks to their defense. An early Smith sack led to a Lions punt. On the next Detroit possession, a botched snap on 3rd and 1 — created by the Vikings challenging the spot on a first down ruling — resulted in a fumble recovery for Van Ginkel. That set Minnesota's offense up in the red zone, and Jones was able to rip off a couple good runs before punching in a one-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

The Lions' possession after the ensuing kickoff ended in another turnover when Wilson stripped the ball out of Jahmyr Gibbs' hands and Murphy recovered. It wasn't until Detroit's fourth series that they got something going on offense. They converted three third-and-longs early in the drive and two fourth downs in the red zone, capping a 19-play drive with an Isaac TeSlaa touchdown catch. It was the first passing touchdown the Vikings have allowed in seven weeks.

Despite a woeful offensive showing that included -12 net passing yards, the Vikings and Lions were tied 7-7 at the half due to Minnesota's outstanding defense.

It was more of the same story in the second half — unbelievable defense (in a good way) and unbelievable offense (in a bad way) — but to an even greater degree. Murphy picked off Goff on third and long midway through the third quarter, setting up a 52-yard Reichard field goal to give the Vikings the lead. On the Lions' very next play, Smith picked off Goff to set up a 56-yard field goal from the automatic Reichard.

If those four takeaways weren't enough, Van Ginkel and Turner simultaneously crushed Goff on the first play of the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble that Redmond recovered. The sixth takeaway was tacked on when Van Ginkel recovered another snap that got away from Goff in the fourth.

The Vikings will wrap up their regular season two Sundays from now against the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.