The NBA may have delivered a late-night classic between the Timberwolves and Nuggets, complete with a jaw-dropping 50-point overtime and Nikola Jokić’s historic stat line, but by then the damage was already done. Earlier in the day, the NFL once again hijacked a holiday—and this time, it did so in the most disappointing way possible.
Christmas was supposed to belong to the Detroit Lions, the league’s preseason darlings and a team many believed represented the NFL’s new, fearless future. Instead, what viewers received was a lifeless throwback to Detroit’s most forgettable eras. Given a prime holiday showcase on Netflix, the Lions unraveled spectacularly, losing 23–10 to a Minnesota Vikings team that barely resembled a functional offense.
The result was more than just a loss. It was a complete erosion of goodwill built over the past two seasons.
Detroit looked incapable of controlling a game they desperately needed. Despite facing a Vikings offense led by a quarterback who managed just 161 total yards, the Lions turned the ball over six times and repeatedly stalled in Minnesota territory. Their lone touchdown came after a grinding 19-play drive that required 13 snaps inside the Vikings’ 45-yard line—an exhausting effort that underscored how broken the offense had become.
The once-explosive Lions attack never materialized. The two teams combined for just 392 yards, the fourth-lowest total in the NFL this season. For context, two of the three games with fewer yards also involved Minnesota. The Vikings didn’t win because they were impressive; they won because Detroit was incapable of getting out of its own way.
Minnesota’s biggest highlight—a 65-yard run by wide receiver Jordan Addison—outpaced the Vikings quarterback’s total passing production. It was ugly football all around. And yet, the Vikings walked away with a comfortable win over a Lions team that entered the year labeled the NFL’s “Next Big Thing.”
That label no longer applies.
Detroit’s fall to an 8–8 record mirrors Minnesota’s, but the emotional impact is far greater. The Lions were supposed to be different—aggressive, fearless, fun. Instead, when the spotlight was brightest, they reverted to a familiar role: the team that ruins holidays. Once infamous for spoiling Thanksgiving, they’ve now added Christmas to the résumé.
Injuries explain some of the regression, but not all of it. This was the same team that popularized fourth-down bravado, kneecap-biting bravado, and an all-out offensive style that produced 42 wins in 54 games between mid-2022 and early 2024. They scored 40 points a dozen times in that span and became the NFL’s most entertaining watch.
Christmas was supposed to be the culmination of that rise.
Instead, it was a reminder of how quickly hope can evaporate in the NFL. The holiday slate turned into a slog of field goals, turnovers, and stalled drives, with Detroit leading the league in all the wrong categories—mistakes, missed opportunities, and momentum lost.
By comparison, Jokić’s 56-point masterpiece and the NBA’s late-night fireworks felt like a rescue mission for anyone willing to stay awake. Those who didn’t were left with the Lions’ holiday collapse—a performance as deflating as opening socks on Christmas morning.
Hope, as always in Detroit, came with an expiration date.
.webp)
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