Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images 6 takeaways from the Detroit Lions’ clinching win over the Minnesota Vikings The regular season finale did not disappoint, unless you are from the state of Minnesota. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings entered Week 18 with historic 14-2 records, tied for the NFC North lead. The winner of this tilt would earn themselves the first seed in the NFC and a much-needed bye week. The loser would plummet down to the fifth spot as a Wild Card team, having to travel on the road to face the Los Angeles Rams. It was billed as potential shootout, but it was instead Detroit dominating in every phase. The offense dropped 31 points on the Vikings defense for the second time this season, while the defense held a strong Vikings offense to just 9 points. A close first half gave way to an all-out beatdown in the second. With the division and conference title wrapped up, the Lions get some much-needed time to recuperate and plan for a playoff push. Let us put a bow on the regular season by examining some takeaways. Super Sonic Boom How else can you describe Jahmyr Gibbs other than electric? Gibbs was the star of the offense without question, and Detroit likely does not win this game without his speed, vision, or toughness. He ripped off a 25-yard run to get Detroit on the board in the first quarter, bobbing and weaving between blockers and would-be tacklers. His second touchdown came through the air on a classic Texas route, perhaps the most dangerous play call in the Lions’ arsenal. He completed the hat trick in the fourth quarter with another long run, this time for 13 yards as he exploded into the end zone. He later added a 47-yard run (not a touchdown) to put him over 100 yards on the day. Not to be outdone, he finished off the night and the Vikings with a 4-yard touchdown to give him the rare four-touchdown performance. A play that really stood out to me happened early in the game. Gibbs got hammered by Andrew Van Ginkel on a failed screen play. He was shaken up for a moment before getting some attention on the sideline. Despite the massive hit, Gibbs played tough the entire game and never missed a beat. I am running out of ways to say how special Gibbs is. He is playing like the best running back in the NFL. A defensive masterclass—at a cost The Lions defense had played two of their worst performances over the previous three games, so there was genuine fear that the talented Vikings offense would take them to the cleaners. Instead, it was Detroit looking like the elite defense. Amik Robertson deserves his own section. Since stepping in for an injured Carlton Davis, Robertson has been phenomenal. His play peaked on Sunday night against Justin Jefferson, with the star receiver—and frequent nightmare for Detroit—being held to just three catches for 54 yards. Robertson is playing with physicality and finesse and was without question the best Detroit defender. Alex Anzalone returned from a fractured forearm, and that one move revitalized the defense. The linebackers, previously a glaring weakness, were excellent in coverage and run defense, with Anzalone leading the team with tackles. The front seven as a whole was staggeringly effective against Minnesota. Sam Darnold was seeing ghosts all day, finishing with a paltry 18 completions on 41 attempts. Darnold was getting pressured frequently and sailed many of his passes. Za’Darius Smith, Josh Paschal, and Al-Quadin Muhammad were wreaking havoc, while Levi Onwuzurike had one of the best games of his career. The main negative on the night could be a big one. Terrion Arnold suffered an ankle injury in the second half and was quickly carted to the locker room. The severity is still unknown—but x-rays were negative according to Dan Campbell in his postgame press conference—and the newly-earned playoff bye week could help, but you never want to see a team lose another starting cornerback. If Arnold is out and Davis remains sidelined with his jaw injury, it will be Kindle Vildor and Morice Norris as the lone healthy cornerbacks besides Robertson. There is a chance that rookie Ennis Rakestraw returns from the injured reserve, though Vildor is the likeliest option to start. Jamo 1K What a breakout season for Jameson Williams. The former first-round receiver had accumulated some doubters and critics after a slow start to his NFL career. Williams essentially redshirted his rookie season, and his second year in the NFL was hampered by a gambling suspension that put him behind the eight-ball. He finished the year with just 354 yards in 12 games as he was limited to a tertiary option. With Josh Reynolds leaving in free agency and a full training camp to establish some chemistry, the title of WR2 was Williams’ to lose. The patience paid off as Williams wrapped up a 1000-yard receiving season alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown—even after serving a two-game suspension this year. What really stands out is how his role has grown. He is no longer just an occasional deep threat. Instead, he is being used all over the field like a chess piece. For a receiver with a smaller frame, Williams is able to take some punishing hits without fear. He has the trust of Goff and the coaching staff. Elite cadence This has been a trend all season, but in the regular season finale, I wanted to highlight it: the Lions are elite at drawing defenses offside. Every team has, at one point, tried to draw their opponent offside by running up to the line of scrimmage and faking the snap. Most often, this results in an obvious non-play that fools nobody on defense. The offense then takes a timeout or a delay of game penalty and moves on with their actual play call. Drawing a defense offside is just a Hail Mary attempt for a free set of downs. The Lions have mastered this strategy. For one, Jared Goff has an incredible cadence that makes even seasoned veterans jump offside. It’s hard to say what makes for an effective cadence, but Goff has it, plain and simple. What also adds to the effectiveness is that the Lions are a bold team on fourth down. In most cases, offenses would fold on a fourth-and-3. Detroit is brave enough to attempt it and good enough to succeed. That means defenses can never assume a nothing play is incoming—they have to stay on edge all game long. That leads to favorable situations where Detroit can draw Minnesota offsides with zero intention of ever snapping it. Jared Goff confirmed the plan was to draw the Vikings offsides on fourth down, not run a play.— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) January 6, 2025 Who needs a tush push? The best fourth-and-short play in the league is now Goff’s cadence. Delay of game shenanigans It still floors me that this is an issue in the NFL. The 40-second play clock is clearly defined: you have 40 seconds to snap the ball before incurring a penalty. Yet on Sunday night, that penalty seemed optional. The Vikings seemingly got away with numerous missed delay of game penalties, snapping the ball with full zeroes on the clock on multiple occasions. Minnesota had its biggest play of the game on one such play, a 58-yard scamper by Cam Akers. The Vikings were called for the proper penalty just twice, both of which happened when the game was out of reach for Minnesota. There is the possibility that the broadcast play clock was slightly ahead of the on-field clock, but given how often we were witnessing close calls, it is more likely that the officials were slow on the whistle. What it really boils down to is the stupidity that is the NFL rulebook. The play clock is undisputable—once the clock hits zero, the play should be over. Instead, the officials give a small grace period before throwing the flag. In the past, this has been explained by the officials having to look at the clock and then look at the ball to see if it was snapped or not. This normally minor split-second delay was a major full-second delay on many snaps. It is frankly absurd that whether the play clock expired or not is a judgment call. The NFL has all sorts of cameras and clocks, so why can they not implement a play clock official either on the field or in a booth? Name a better waste of $2 million dollars The Vikings thought they were being clever. The plan? Purchase tickets to the game at Ford Field and populate them with Vikings fans. The budget? Approximately $2 million. The outcome? A stimulus to the Lions and a waste of money for the Vikings. For one, the Vikings failed to distribute those tickets to Vikings fans. Per reports, tickets were either being re-sold at a mark-up, or the tickets were outright purchased by... Michigan residents. Even if a select few Vikings fans were able to make the trip to Ford Field, they were completely drowned out by an overwhelming home crowd—I certainly did not notice an uproar when the Lions were on offense, aside from the occasional cheer for an eligible Dan Skipper. Noise aside, any Vikings fans in attendance had nothing to cheer for. The Vikings were held out of the end zone, settling for three field goals. The only highlights came from the Lions in what spiraled into a blowout for the home team. The Vikings paid to subject their fans to a drubbing. Maybe the Vikings should have saved that money for a flight to Los Angeles.