Minnesota Vikings Week 17 Superlatives

The Minnesota Vikings crushed the playoff dreams of the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day in a 23-10 win. It was a beautiful thing. The Vikings offense wasn’t beautiful. Far from it. The Vikings defense was the difference in this beautiful game. This season hasn’t been great but the team is ending it strong. The defeat of the Lions was the fourth consecutive win. Here are some of the players that made the beautiful win possible. 

Offensive Player of the Game

Jordan Addison, WR

With undrafted rookie Max Brosmer getting the start over J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings offense wasn’t good. 16 of the 23 points were set up by defensive takeaways. The first of those takeaways gave the offense the ball at the 16-yard line. Five plays later, Aaron Jones Sr scored on a one-yard plunge. The Vikings turned three other takeaways into three long field goals. The remaining points came from the lone, big offensive play. With 4:39 remaining in the game, Vikings head coach decided to use a little misdirection to attack a Lions defense that had been suffocating a limited Vikings offense the previous 55 minutes. Jordan Addison took a jet sweep 65 yards for a game-sealing touchdown. That bumped the score to 20-10. With the way the Vikings defense was playing and less than four minutes to play, there was no way the Lions could erase a two-score deficit. The Vikings made one offensive play the entire game and Addison made it count. 

Defensive Player of the Game

All of Them

The Lions entered the game with only eight turnovers in the previous 15 games. They left this game with 14 turnovers on the season. The Vikings defense took the ball from the Lions offense six times. Byron Murphy Jr. had an interception. Harrison Smith had an interception in a remarkable performance. Andrew Van Ginkel also had a great, versatile performance. He also recovered two fumbles. Murphy recovered a fumble. Jalen Redmond also recovered a fumble. The Vikings pass rush sacked Jared Goff five times. It felt like much more as the Lions quarterback was in serious jeopardy on nearly every drop back. With the offense doing so little, the Vikings needed an outstanding performance from their defense. They got it. And then some. 

Special Teams Player of the Game

Will Reichard, K

Punter Ryan Wright’s outstanding season has been in the long shadow of Will Reichard’s unprecedented season. He was perfect again against the Lions. He was perfect on two extra points. He was perfect on three field goals. All three of his field goals were from over 40 yards. Two were from over 50 yards. The two 50+ field goals gave him 11 on the season. That’s a franchise record. 

There isn’t another kicker in the league that I’d take over Will Reichard.