The Detroit Lions (10-4) will be hoping to open one of their Christmas presents a day early when they face NFC North rival the Minnesota Vikings (7-7) in Week 16 on Christmas Eve. That present will be one that has been awaited much longer than the year-long wait for the annual holiday. It's three decades in the making.
If the Lions can capture their 11th win on Sunday, they'll not only be able to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, they'll claim their first division title in 30 years. The last time the Lions were able to call themselves the division champs, the NFC North wasn't even a thing. Back then, they were in the NFC Central, which was essentially the same as the current North division, just with a fifth team in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added.
After this long, the Lions wouldn't care what the division is called as long as they can call themselves champions. That term doesn't come around often in the city of Detroit. With an 11th win, it would also be the first time the Lions have won that number of games since 2016. But with three games remaining, they have an opportunity to record a season-high win total of 13 games.
First, they have to get through a Vikings team that is barely hanging onto the 6th seed in the Wild Card right now. Now, let's get into some Lions bold predictions for Week 16 versus the Vikings.
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The Lions rush for 150 yards
One of the things that the Vikings do best as a defense is similar to what the Lions do best as an offense. Minnesota has the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the NFL, allowing just 92 yards per game, with their opponents only scoring eight rushing touchdowns this season. Conversely, the Lions are ranked top-5 in yards per carry (4.8), rushing yards per game (140.9), rushing touchdowns (21), and rushing yards for the season (1,973).
When you have guys like David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield, it's easy to put up those kinds of numbers. This will definitely be a challenge for the two backs, but they should still get their yardage, with one of them hitting paydirt.
The Lions' defense causes two turnovers on defense
The Lions rank toward the bottom of the league in team takeaways with 15. But the Vikings are one of the worst teams in the league at giveaways with 26 total turnovers this season. That's partly due to their lack of consistent quarterback play after having to replace Kirk Cousins earlier in the season when he suffered his season-ending Achilles injury.
Three weeks ago, Josh Dobbs, alone, threw four interceptions, which caused him to lose his job to Nick Mullens, who threw a pair of his own picks against the Cincinnati Bengals in an overtime loss last weekend.
Sam LaPorta stays hot
What more can you say about the rookie tight end this season? LaPorta was huge against the Denver Broncos last Sunday, where he scored three touchdowns. Goff has grown quite fond of LaPorta and continues to find him in crucial situations. Expect around 40-60 yards and a score from the former Hawkeye.
The Lions win the game and clinch the NFC North
Although this game will be in Minneapolis, it's doubtful that Lions' fans will want to wait three more weeks when the team comes back home to clinch the division when they face the Vikings again. Though this isn't a must-win game by any means, it definitely has a similar feel to it just because of the 30 years without this team being able to so much as hang a division championship banner in their rafters.
The Lions take their big halftime lead and never let up, becoming winners of the North.
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