The 2024 regular season has delivered terrific matchups time and time again, but none may be more exciting than the Week 18 primetime showdown between NFC North rivals.
The Detroit Lions (14-2) are hosting the Minnesota Vikings (14-2) at Ford Field. These divisional foes are tied for first place in the NFC North, and the winner tonight will claim the division crown.
More importantly, the winner of tonight’s “Sunday Night Football” clash will be the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and the loser will enter the playoffs as the No. 5 seed. The victor will claim the highly coveted bye through the wild card round, and the loser will travel to the playoffs next weekend.
These teams met in October when the Lions defeated the Vikings in a back-and-forth 31-29 matchup. Detroit has won four straight against Minnesota; however, each side looks quite different from the first meeting in Week 7.
The Lions are without David “Knuckles” Montgomery in the backfield, forcing Jared Goff to be the focal point of the offense. Detroit’s defense has suffered a litany of injuries and has allowed at least 31 points in three of its last four.
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Meanwhile, Minnesota is remarkably healthy heading into the final game of the regular season and is riding a nine-game win streak. Justin Jefferson will look to put his stamp on this one. He has amassed 597 yards on 34 receptions in his last three games in Detroit.
USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the Week 18 “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Lions and Vikings below.
NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: Updates on shifting field, scenarios during Week 18
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The Lions have finished the job, collecting a 31-9 victory over the Vikings at Ford Field to wrap up the NFL’s regular season. Detroit is the top seed in the NFC, earning home-field advantage and a first-round bye.
Jahmyr Gibbs must’ve made some great plans for next week. The running back is dragging the Lions to the No. 1 seed, which comes with home field advantage and a coveted week off. He’s up to 23 carries for 139 yards and three rushing touchdowns. However, he’s also added five catches for 31 yards and a receiving touchdown. The second-year back is a one-man wrecking crew. Detroit is rolling with five minutes to go.
Running backs don’t matter, until they do. The position that’s often been an afterthought is carrying the Lions to the No. 1 seed right now. Of course, having a great offensive line also helps. Regardless, Jahmyr Gibbs adds his third touchdown of the game. A 13-yard rushing score gets the job done, putting the Lions up by 15 with just 13 minutes to go.
Welcome to the danger zone, Minnesota. No flag comes out for pass interference and Kevin O’Connell decides to settle for a field goal. Will Reichard rewards his head coach’s trust with a big miss, pushing it wide right. The rookie’s mistakes have come at costly times for the Vikings tonight, with the kick out of bounds before the half and now the miss that allows Detroit to keep momentum.
The Lions are showing the Vikings what they have to do on fourth down. Detroit converts again, this time on fourth-and-2. Jared Goff finds Jahmyr Gibbs out of the backfield as the running back waltzes in for the score. All those points that Minnesota has left on the board are looming large. They’ll need an answer before Detroit can blow this one open.
The touchdown was Gibbs’ 18th of the season, establishing a new team record.
This is not a first half replay, but the Vikings turn the Jared Goff interception into another Will Reichard field goal. This time he’s good from 51, bringing the deficit back to one. Reichard will try to keep the kickoff from going out of bounds, however.
Terrion Arnold was carted to the locker room with an apparent leg injury. The Lions are rapidly running out of players to field a defense, with the latest being the first-round rookie.
Rather than take their chances deep in their end, Jared Goff decides to punt it on first down with his arm. The quarterback throws his second interception of the game and the Vikings get the ball right back at their own 46.
Second half, same as the first. The Vikings march down the field on the opening drive of the second half, only to turn it over on downs at the Detroit 2-yard line. Sam Darnold, who was once known to be seeing ghosts, wasn’t seeing some open receivers on fourth down, eventually failing to connect with Jordan Addison. Cam Akers’ 58-yard run goes to waste and the Lions take over deep in their own territory. It’s red alert in the red zone for Minnesota, who will have that to work on if they fail to come back tonight.
Following a kick out of bounds on the kickoff from Will Reichard, the Lions take advantage of the mistake and get a field goal of their own before the half. Jake Bates is good from 48, stretching Detroit’s lead back to four. Minnesota gets the ball to start the second half, but will look back at some missed opportunities in the first 30 minutes tonight.
The Vikings capitalize on another gift from the Lions, turning the turnover on downs into three points. Minnesota is struggling to protect Sam Darnold, which is becoming a story in this first half. Regardless, they settle for three more and trail by one with 20 seconds left in the half.
Midwestern hospitality is on full display tonight, as the Lions decided to match the Vikings’ turnover on downs. Following an unsuccessful challenge, Goff’s pass is deflected at the line and falls incomplete, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 42.
Kevin O’Connell wasn’t going to pass on points this time. After Sam Darnold missed Justin Jefferson twice in the end zone for touchdowns, the Vikings will settle for the field goal. Will Reichard knocks it through from 25 yards to put some points on the board. A disappointing outcome for Minnesota, but the turnover does cost the Lions with just over six minutes left in the first half.
If you’re a fan of second chances, you’ll love what just happened. A few plays after safety that wasn’t, Jared Goff tosses one right to Ivan Pace Jr., who sets up first-and-goal for the Vikings with a chance to right their previous wrong.
The Vikings started the drive with great field position at midfield. They marched to the Detroit 3-yard-line, but that was as far as they’d get. Faced with a decision to kick the field goal or try for the touchdown, Minnesota opted to go for six. The fourth down pass falls incomplete and the Lions will take over on downs. File that away for later if passing on those three points comes back to hurt Kevin O’Connell’s team.
The NFL’s wild-card weekend will feature two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and another on Monday night.
The loser of tonight’s Vikings-Lions game will travel to face the Los Angeles Rams, winners of the NFC West in the Monday night game.
The Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans will kick things off Saturday afternoon, with an AFC North grudge match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to follow. — Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
The all-important answer comes up with, well, the wrong answer from Sam Darnold and Co. The quarterback kicked off the drive with a 17-yard sack and capped it with a pass that wasn’t in T.J. Hockenson’s zip code. Vikings are forced to punt and will now rely on their defense to get a stop.
Like a car in the winter, the Lions were just getting warmed up. The engine is humming now as Jahmyr Gibbs finds pay dirt with a 25-yard rushing score to cap off the nine-play, 78-yard drive. Minnesota had a chance to get Detroit off the field on fourth down, but Jared Goff found Jameson Williams for the first down. Now the Vikings will have to play from behind as the crowd celebrates another touchdown from the man they call “Sonic.”
In a game between two evenly matched teams, it makes sense that we’re at a stalemate thus far. The Vikings moved the ball, but also end up punting. We’re halfway through the opening quarter, but scoreless in the Motor City.
If the Lions were looking for a fast start, this opening drive didn’t accomplish that. They picked up a first down, but the drive stalls and results in a Detroit punt. Now it’s Sam Darnold’s turn to march his friends in white-and-purple down the field.
The Lions and Vikings game will wrap up Sunday Week 18 with “Sunday Night Football” at 8:20 p.m. ET. This will be the last game of the 2024 NFL regular season.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Week 18 “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Vikings and Lions will shape up:
“Sunday Night Football” will stream on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. Football fans can also watch the final “SNF” game with a subscription to Fubo.
The Lions are favorites to defeat the Vikings, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
The Vikings travel North to take on the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL during the 2005 season. That game was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks.
The stadium also hosted the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl, which was won by Toledo over Pittsburgh in overtime.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Lions’ Ford Field rate?
Here’s how the AFC and NFC stack up entering “SNF”:
NFC
AFC
Minnesota ranks just outside the top five in Super Bowl 59 odds entering Week 18, but its odds could improve significantly if it wins to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye.
BetMGM has the Vikings’ odds set at +900 to win this year’s championship. They’re behind the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles (tied at +700) but in front of the Green Bay Packers (+1600).
Detroit is still among the favorites to win Super Bowl 59 entering Week 18 action. BetMGM has the Lions at +400 odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the postseason. Those are the second-best odds from the sportsbook, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs at +375.
Pending the outcome of their Week 18 game, the Lions are either on a bye for the first round of the playoffs or will hit the road next week for a wild-card matchup.
Here are their potential opponents in each scenario:
With Week 18 win/tie over Vikings:
The Lions would secure the top seed in the NFC and a bye. They’d start their playoff run in the divisional round against the lowest remaining seed of the following opponents:
With Week 18 loss to Vikings:
Detroit would drop to the No. 5 seed in the NFC and need to travel to face the No. 4 seed for the wild-card round. Here are their potential matchups in that scenario:
Minnesota can either earn a first-round bye or face a road playoff game in the wild-card round depending on how its Week 18 matchup goes.
Here’s who the Vikings could face in either scenario:
With Week 18 win over Lions
The Vikings would earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a bye through the wild-card round. In the divisional round, thanks to the NFL’s dynamic playoff format, they’d face the lowest seed remaining of the following teams:
With Week 18 loss or tie vs. Lions
Minnesota would drop to the NFC’s No. 5 seed and hit the road for a matchup against the No. 4 seed. Here’s who that could be:
Start date: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025
The format remains unchanged from previous years, with wild-card weekend getting things started Jan. 11. Sunday will feature a tripleheader before the round wraps up on Monday, Jan. 13.
Here’s the order for the first round of the 2025 NFL draft for non-playoff teams entering the “SNF” game (the order for picks Nos. 19-32 will be decided by the postseason results):
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
The Lions are among four NFL teams that have never appeared in a Super Bowl. The Lions, however, were a powerhouse team before the advent of the Super Bowl, winning four NFL championships, including three in the 1950s.
The Vikings have made four Super Bowl appearances, but have yet to win a Lombardi Trophy. Minnesota’s last Super Bowl appearance came in Super Bowl XI during the 1976 season.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
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