The strangest and most interesting stats from a unique Vikings victory

That was a weird win for the Vikings, which is reflected in some of the stats we found.

Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew van Ginkel (43) celebrates recovering a fumble by against the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

That was a unique one. In their 23-10 win over the Lions on Christmas Day, the Vikings won the turnover battle 6-0 and managed just 3 net passing yards. To put those numbers (and some others) into context, we dug up a handful of interesting statistical notes from this strange victory.

1. The takeaway margin

The Vikings recorded six takeaways in this game (four fumble recoveries, two interceptions), which is remarkable when you consider that the Lions came into the contest with an NFL-low eight giveaways in their first 15 games of the season. And although it was a rough day for the Vikings' offense, they did not commit a turnover of their own.

It's the first time the Vikings have recorded six takeaways since a 2019 game against the Chargers. It's only the second time they've won the turnover battle 6-0 or better in franchise history. The previous time it happened was in 1975, when Bud Grant's Vikings had eight takeaways and zero turnovers in a 38-0 win over the Falcons at Metropolitan Stadium.

In NFL history, this was the 114th game where a team won the turnover battle at least 6-0. The Vikings' 161 yards of offense are the third-lowest total among that sample.

2. Net passing yards

Max Brosmer threw for 51 yards for the Vikings and lost 48 yards on seven sacks. That's how you end up with 3 net passing yards, which is the fewest in the history of the franchise. The previous low was 21, which the Vikings did twice in 1971. Oddly, they won both of those games too. The last time the Vikings even had fewer than 30 net passing yards was in 2011.

Since the merger in 1970, NFL teams have recorded 3 or fewer net passing yards in a game 54 times now. The previous 53 were 10-42-1, which is actually a surprising number of wins. The last team to win in that sample was the 2006 Texans, who had -5 in a victory.

3. Brosmer's tough day

Brosmer was 9 of 16 for 51 yards and took seven sacks. Previously in NFL history, quarterbacks were 1-24 when throwing for fewer than 70 yards and taking at least seven sacks. The only win was by Joe Theismann in 1976, but he didn't play the entire game, which sets up this note from OPTA Stats:

Max Brosmer is the only NFL QB in the Super Bowl era to play the entire game and finish with under 70 passing yards and 7+ sacks and yet still win. pic.twitter.com/PAJ71v695X

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) December 26, 2025

Brosmer joins 2011 Donovan McNabb and 2006 Tarvaris Jackson as the only Vikings QBs to throw for 55 or fewer yards on at least 15 passing attempts since 1987.

4. Other individual players

• Harrison Smith (1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PD) joins Ronde Barber as the only players in NFL history with at least 21.5 career sacks and at least 39 career interceptions.

• Will Reichard made field goals from 52, 56, and 42 yards out. He now has 11 field goals from 50-plus yards this season, breaking Blair Walsh's franchise record of 10 set in 2012.

• Justin Jefferson (4 catches for 30 yards) broke Randy Moss's NFL record for receiving yards in a player's first six seasons. He's now at 8,379 in his career, with one game to play in his sixth season.

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