Coming into the final day of the 2024-25 NFL regular season, the playoff picture was nearly finished. During the daytime games, the final wild card playoff spots were taken. There was one final game remaining before the playoffs could begin: A Sunday Night Football duel between the divisional rivals and powerhouses Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, both franchises in a deadlock of 14-2 records. The winner would win their division, the NFC North, and receive the #1 seed in the NFC, which includes a bye week that brings a team straight to the divisional round, along with home field advantage all throughout the playoffs until the Super Bowl. The loser would receive the #5 seed in the NFC, the highest wild card spot, and would have to face the burden of playing on the road all throughout the playoffs. Over in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, who are currently chasing their third consecutive Super Bowl victory, had already ran away with #1 seed in their conference, with a dominating 15-2 record that no one in the AFC had come close to. After the Sunday Night Football game, either the Lions or Vikings would also be 15-2, leading their conference, therefore being the team most favored to knock the Chiefs off the throne they have held in the NFL for two years. Coming into the game, the Lions were favored to win, but only by three points, with a 53% chance of coming out on top. NFL fans everywhere were expecting a hard-fought, close game, including beloved DHS history teacher of six years Matt Esposito, who said he “…thought Minnesota was going to go in there and do a good job. I expected a close game regardless though.

The Vikings won the coin toss and decided to defer getting the ball first to the Lions. However, neither team could move the ball more than 30 yards on their opening possessions with strong defenses of both teams, each of them top 10 in the NFL for giving up the least amount of points per game. On their second chance with the ball, Detroit got a good drive going, with big passes from quarterback Jared Goff to all-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. Lions coach Dan Campell, one of the most likely individuals to be this years’ NFL Coach of the Year, known for his bold personality and taking risks on the field, opted to not attempt a 57 yard field goal to go for it on 4th & 5. The Lions converted, and Lions superstar running back Jahmyr Gibbs took an elusive 25 yard run right down the middle for a touchdown on the very next play to give Detroit a 7-0 lead. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, easily the the frontrunner to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, after going from nearly cut from the NFL to having a 14-2 record, alongside superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson and all-star tight end TJ Hockenson, drove all the way to a 2nd & Goal at the Lions’ three yard line. The Vikings failed to capitalize on the opportunity with three straight incompletions, turning the ball over on downs. The Lions did not do much better, as Goff threw an interception at his own 26 yard line soon after, but once again the Vikings did not capitalize on excellent field position, instead kicking a 25 yard field goal. The Lions drove the ball into Minnesota territory, with Campell once again deciding to go for it on fourth down, this time unsuccessfully. The Vikings responded with another field goal from kicker Will Reichard, this time from 31 yards, and with only 20 seconds left until halftime, everyone thought the Lions would kneel on the ball and run out the clock. They most likely would have been correct if Reichard had not kicked the ball off out of bounds, a devastating penalty, giving Detroit the ball on their own 40 yard line. Two big completions from Goff to St. Brown and receiver Kalif Raymond got the Lions in range for a 48 yard field goal from kicker Jake Bates, sending the game into halftime with a 10-6 lead. It was anyone’s game, but the very end of the first half would go on to foreshadow the rest of the game.

The beginning of the second half was actually very much like the first. The Vikings got the ball to Detroit’s two yard line, and for the second time that game could not get in the end zone and walked away with nothing after three straight incompletions from Darnold aimed at either Justin Jefferson or TJ Hockenson. Goff threw another interception right after, and the Vikings kicked another field goal, trailing only by a point once again. Had Minnesota actually scored touchdowns while in the red zone, they would be leading by over a dozen points. Goff, Gibbs, LaPorta, and St. Brown led another great drive, capped off by a ten yard receiving touchdown up the middle from Goff to Gibbs. The Vikings attempted another 51 yard field goal, this time missing wide right, and Detroit scored a touchdown once again, this time a breakaway 13 yard touchdown dash to the left side from Gibbs. The once close game was at a 24-9 lead for the Lions, and their stadium, Ford Field, was erupting. The screaming, powerful atmosphere, coupled with Detroit’s punishing, physical defense, made it excruciatingly hard for the Vikings to respond, and they punted. On the next play, Gibbs broke out on the right side for 47 yards, and a few plays later he ran it in for a physical four yard touchdown, putting the nail in the coffin at a 31-9 lead, which would go on to be the final score. There were still five minutes left, but the game was over. Esposito summed up the experience of fans up perfectly, stating, “I thought this game was gonna be close at the end, I was definitely surprised…I didn’t think they were gonna run all over them but they ran all over them.”

As anyone would expect, Jahmyr Gibbs was named the Player of the Game and awarded the game ball. He finished the game with a total of 170 yards and four touchdowns between running and receiving the ball, having his best game of his career in the Lions’ most important game of the season. The 22 year old has only been in the NFL for two seasons, but has made the pro-bowl both years, something very hard for a rookie to do, was on the NFL All-Rookie Team, and was this year’s NFL rushing touchdowns co-leader, easily distinguishing himself as one of the top running backs in the league. His rookie season he was one of the key Lions players whose great performances helped transform the Lions in one season from a team that could not make the playoffs to making the NFC championship and barely losing by three points to the San Francisco 49ers. “He’s special because he has breakaway speed, so he’s a real gamechanger,” Esposito added. Gibbs has only gotten even better from the previous offseason, as has been playing even better as the season goes on, capping off the regular season with his great performance against the Vikings. If Gibbs continues to develop as he has been and keeps on playing incredibly, it will be immensely difficult for any defense to slow the Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs down.

One of the main reasons they were surprised about the game’s outcome was because of the job Detroit’s defense did on Minnesota’s high-paced offense. The Vikings’ offense was ranked ninth in the league and was led by Justin Jefferson, arguably the best receiver in the NFL, formerly NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Sam Darnold, one of the best performing quarterbacks this season, and TJ Hockenson, one of the top tight ends in the league. “When the Vikings thrive is when Darnold has a lot of time to throw the ball, they’re constantly hitting deep throws, and Detroit made a game plan to get to the quarterback,” explained Esposito, with leading tacklers of the game being Alex Anzalone, Kirby Joseph, Jack Campell, and Za’Darius Smith. With such little time to throw, Jefferson and Hockenson could never get going, only getting a combined five receptions and 62 yards, their lowest combined all season in both categories. With this, the Vikings offense was demoralized and shut down, especially after the Lions forced the Vikings to merely two field goals and two turnover of downs, every time with the ball inside Detroit’s fifteen yard line. These four occasions the Lions defense made stops when necessary, and was the primary reason why the Vikings finished with nine points and a loss.

Coming off of this tough loss, the fifth seeded Vikings will have to get ready to face the fourth seeded Los Angeles Rams on the road for Wild Card Round Weekend. The game will take place on Monday, January 13, at 8:00 pm on ESPN and ABC. The Vikings are projected to win, but only by one point, with a 54% chance of winning. While the Vikings can definitely beat the Rams, they do not stand a whole lot of a chance on the road playing teams like the second seeded Philadelphia Eagles, and as seen by the other weekend, the Lions. As a team that is having its first real playoff run in a while, Esposito believes that “they have the talent, but what’s gonna hold them back is the experience Darnold doesn’t have, and a lot of those guys don’t have playoff experience.” As for the first seeded Lions, they will be facing the sixth seeded Washington Commanders in the NFC for the divisional round on Saturday, January 18, at 8:00pm on FOX. The Lions are favored to win the NFC, but are proven to be very beatable after poor losses against the Buccaneers, who just lost in the Wild Card round to the Commanders on January 12, and the second seeded Buffalo Bills over in the AFC. Regardless, if any team in the NFC wants a chance to make the Super Bowl, they have to play their best football of the season and come through Detroit.

The road to Super Bowl LIX is underway, and the Kansas City Chiefs are showing no signs of weakness, as they aspire to be the first NFL team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Led by all time great quarterback Patrick Mahomes, all time great tight end Travis Kelce, and the fourth ranked defense in the NFL, the Chiefs are still favored to win it all once again. However, they are proven to be very beatable when the team brings their best to the game, with their losses to the Bills and Denver Broncos being by multiple touchdowns. The Super Bowl this year is more open than it has been in a very long time, with teams such as the Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Ravens, and Lions all having nearly an equally good chance to win the Super Bowl. So let us all look forward to the moments, excitement, and memories that await us in this year’s NFL playoffs and enjoy the best time of year in football.