Lions secure NFC's No. 1 seed as massive matchup with Vikings turns into rout
At least the Minnesota Vikings will make some history next week. They’ll be the first 14-win wild-card playoff team in NFL history.
There can be complaints about the NFL overemphasizing its divisions, which leads to oddities like the home team having four fewer wins than its road opponent in the wild-card round. But the Vikings knew the stakes for Sunday night’s historic game against the Detroit Lions. The winner is 15-2 and gets the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The other breaks the 1999 Tennessee Titans’ record of 13 wins for a wild-card team, and falls to the fifth seed.
And knowing the stakes, the Vikings came up small. Sam Darnold had a bad game, perhaps his worst of the season. There were questionable coaching decisions and some big special teams errors. Ultimately, the Lions pulled away while not even playing their best, winning the NFC North with a 31-9 win. Jahmyr Gibbs had four touchdowns and the Lions became the ninth team in NFL history to win 15 games in a regular season.
The Lions get to rest. They have wild-card weekend off and they won’t need to go on the road for the NFC playoffs. They need the week off given all their injuries, including cornerback Terrion Arnold, who left Sunday night’s game with a foot injury. The Vikings fall all the way to the No. 5 seed. They’ll play at the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night of wild-card weekend.
https://sports.yahoo.com/live/lions-secure-nfcs-no-1-seed-as-massive-matchup-with-vikings-turns-into-rout-004537124.html
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