GAME DAY! Vikings at Lions 1/5/25

[ghandi]

An impressive win tonight...never thought the defense would rise up like that

[dsred]

1) Who'da thunk Alex Anzalone was the key to this D?
2) At least we don't have to listen to the Stafford vs. Goff storyline again (for now).
3) Fuck the Vikings.
4) Time to heal some of the wounded.
5) TA's injury didn't look good.

[whatever_gong82]

1) Who'da thunk Alex Anzalone was the key to this D?
2) At least we don't have to listen to the Stafford vs. Goff storyline again (for now).
3) Fuck the Vikings.
4) Time to heal some of the wounded.
5) TA's injury didn't look good.

I hope 🙏 that he’s available during the Playoffs.

[Dan V]

I think Arnold just twisted his ankle. Zeitler looks like he pulled a hammy that seems to be worse for me.

[chemiclord]

I think we just feel that way because of the angst.

The Lions put that belt to ass tonight.

It was certainly still in doubt until the 4th... but eventually the Lions did what they did to a lot of teams; wore 'em down over 60 minutes and made the Vikings tap out by the end. The Vikes were done before the final whistle.

[maxw3ll]

It was certainly still in doubt until the 4th... but eventually the Lions did what they did to a lot of teams; wore 'em down over 60 minutes and made the Vikings tap out by the end. The Vikes were done before the final whistle.

Vikes kneeled at the end. You don't see that very often. Especially in a division game where you might meet again soon.

[Sanders Fan]

I will go ahead and say best Lions defensive performance that I’ve ever seen. When you factor in the importance of the game. The reasonable expectations entering the game and how most people predicted the Vikings to score over 30. The injuries….

A+ to everyone on D.

Yeah, I was thinking it’s honestly the best game defensively since the 1991 divisional game against Dallas considering the stakes involved.

[Iron Lion]

Party time my people. Just popped some gummies LOL.

[dsred]

Just heard an interesting stat. The 2024 NFC North, with a record of 45-23, is the best division winning percentage (.661) of all time. And Chicago sucked.

[maxw3ll]

I think Arnold just twisted his ankle. Zeitler looks like he pulled a hammy that seems to be worse for me.

Or cramp? Either way he has time. Cant see a big guy pulling a hammy that bad.

[Sanders Fan]

Just heard an interesting stat. The 2024 NFC North, with a record of 45-23, is the best division winning percentage (.661) of all time. And Chicago sucked.

I read it’s also now the only division in the NFL where every team has had a 15 win season. No other division has had more than one.

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

Locker room buzz: Robertson steps up, Anzalone's impact, injury updates, record reactions and a coordinator chess match

Justin Rogers
Jan 6

Detroit — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 31-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings.



Lions dominate Vikings 31-9, securing best season in team history, #1 seed

Audacy




Walking the walk after talking the talk

When I chatted with ultra-confident Amik Robertson on Friday, I asked him if he had requested to travel with longtime rival Justin Jefferson, but the Lions cornerback downplayed the possibility.


As it turns out, he didn’t want to tip the game plan. Robertson shadowed the All-Pro receiver most of the night and played on his head, holding Jefferson to three catches for 54 yards on nine targets.

“It was, what Tuesday, maybe Monday, Monday night,” Robertson said when asked when he first learned the plan. “I’ve been anxious for this opportunity for so long. Everything I did out there I expected (to do). I knew I was going to play that way. The only thing that kind of was shocking, I got (the game ball). I never got one of those, man. That was an unreal feeling.”


Robertson and Jefferson were high school rivals who competed in summer camps and in college before battling as pros. Although Jefferson is regarded as a different caliber talent, one of the league’s truly elite players, there’s always been a mutual respect between the two. But Robertson didn’t like how Jefferson reacted to the lopsided loss.

“JJ is a great player, man,” Robertson said. “The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way, after the first game, he scored on me and I told him, 'Good game,' and he was all like, 'I'm proud of you.’ After this game, he just walked off the field. It's OK, though. Maybe we'll see him again. Whatever.”


Jefferson did talk to reporters after the game, acknowledging he was frustrated by Detroit’s physicality and the officiating allowing the opponent to get away with it. Shoutout to MLive’s Kory Woods for getting me access to the audio from the Vikings locker room.

“We felt like some of the calls that should have been called out there didn't get called," Jefferson said. "They held us a lot — calls were left out there — but that’s not something we’re looking to blame. That’s not something we’re going to put the blame on. We still needed to go out there and execute the plays we had.”


What the doctor ordered

Sunday marked the triumphant return of linebacker Alex Anzalone. His teammates raved about what their captain means to the defense.

“It feels good getting him back because you know everything behind you is going to be taken care of, so you can just go rush,” defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike said. “In my opinion, that's the No. 1 linebacker in the league. He can do everything on the field and he's unbelievably smart. Just having him back there, you saw how the defense operated much better.”


Onwuzurike also praised Jack Campbell for stepping up in Anzalone’s absence, feeling the pairing is even more impactful than before.

“Those two, side by side, they make shit happen,” Onwuzurike said.

Obviously, there’s the on-field impact, but the emotional lift Anzalone provided shouldn't be downplayed.


“He's just our energy guy,” defensive tackle DJ Reader said. “Alex is a hell of a player, an amazing player, but he's our energy guy, man. We need that energy.”

Reports coming into the game were Anzalone would be on a pitch count, but he played nearly every defensive snap, only taking a seat during the final series, when the outcome was decided.


Earlier in the week, Anzalone called the narrative the Lions didn’t have a good enough defense to win the Super Bowl, ‘Bullshit.’ After the game, he was asked if he felt he had altered that conversation.

“You tell me,” Anzalone said. “I haven't gone on Twitter or anything yet. Yeah, tonight was a statement. A chance to change the narrative against a really good offense, against great weapons, a great running back, a quarterback that was really hot right now. It was an opportunity to affect that narrative that everyone else was talking about.”


Injury update

Despite leaving the game with a painful-looking foot injury, rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was all smiles in Detroit’s locker room after the conference-clinching victory.

“We won,” Arnold said. “You know I'm going to be turnt.”

For visual evidence of Arnold’s jovial postgame attitude, you should check out his TikTok account.


Arnold’s right foot was in a walking boot and coach Dan Campbell said the initial X-rays were negative. Arnold said he would need more medical tests to determine the extent of the injury.

“We don't know right now, but stay prayed up, trust in God, I'm gonna be good,” Arnold said.

Minutes later, Arnold confidently expressed he’d be able to play in the playoffs.


Another Lion uncertain about his status was guard Kevin Zeitler, who left late in the game with a hamstring strain. He noted he was thankful for the extra recovery time the bye would provide, but also acknowledged the need for additional testing to determine the extent of the injury.

Defensive tackle Pat O’Connor was in a walking boot similar to Arnold. The veteran defensive lineman exited in the second half with a calf injury. There wasn’t an immediate update on his condition.


A second return

Anzalone wasn’t the only one returning to action. Wide receiver and return man Kalif Raymond was also re-incorporated into the lineup after a five-game absence with a foot injury.

“I was hoping it would hold up and it did,” Raymond said. “That's all I can ask for. (Physical therapist) Austin (Daus) and the training staff, they did a lot to get me back, making sure I was prepared to go out there and play, not only to protect myself but to make sure I played well.”


Raymond said he hasn’t taken a day off from rehab since suffering the injury against Indianapolis. He also praised Detroit’s medical staff for being there for him each day.

"It's a testament to a lot of those guys because they're not taking any days off. Any day that's available to work, you work."


Raymond was still battling some uncertainty coming into the day, but cleared a key mental hurdle early in the contest.

“Yeah, the first punt return,” Raymond said. “That was my first time cutting that hard with somebody trying to hit me. It held up, so I'm thankful.”


Raymond said the next big test is seeing how the foot feels the next day. But given how difficult it was for him to shut things down the past month, keeping him off the field during the postseason will be next to impossible.

“Dan keeps saying it, this team is special,” Raymond said. “Any time I can get out there, get skinned up a little bit, have some blood on my chin, and fight next to these guys, I'm going to take that opportunity.”


Franchise and NFL records broken

Jahmyr Gibbs is understandably getting tons of love after he scored four times to set the franchise record for touchdowns in a season.


“He's a beast,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “He's one of the best players in this league. He can do it all out of the backfield. …He's a huge part of this team, a huge part of this offense. I'm glad he's on our team.”

But Gibbs wasn’t the only Lions player breaking records. While the running back was rewriting the franchise’s books, Jack Fox capped one of the greatest punting seasons in NFL history, setting a new bar for net punting average (46.2 yards), topping Johnny Hekker’s mark from 2016.


Although teammates Jake Bates and Hogan Hatten kept shouting “greatest punter of all time” during my conversation with Fox, he did everything he could to downplay the accomplishment, explaining the record as a team feat.

“Honestly, I felt like I played well throughout the year, but the team around me was playing so well,” Fox said. “I didn't do anything crazy. The coaches called a good game plan, we ran some fakes early in the season, they got us out of some good punt rushes, and everybody played so well around us. Khalil Dorsey had a great year. He was unbelievable. (Kindle) Vildor was playing well on the other side. Hogan comes in and he runs down the field and impacts the play on the coverage side. Hell, Jack Campbell, a first-round pick, played most of the season on the punt team.


“Let's put it this way, I think I'm the only one who knows it happened on the punt team,” Fox said. “It's not something we're talking about every week like, 'Oh, we've got to get this record.' It's about every week trying to make a play for the team. I think they take a lot of pride in that and so do I. It's a team accomplishment, but it's also what we're supposed to be doing.”

Fox also praised Hekker, the longtime Rams punter Fox grew up rooting for in St. Louis. He said Hekker's 2016 season was probably more impressive given he punted 98 times that year. Fox had fewer than half that many punts this year.


Flores vs. Johnson, the game within the game

The Lions’ offense struggled out the gate because of how prepared Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had his unit.


When the Lions were checking plays at the line of scrimmage, as they often do within their scheme, the Vikings seemed to know exactly what the Lions wanted to do and changed their defensive calls to match. It was something the Lions hadn’t experienced before and had to adjust.

“At first, there was a couple times they were checking our checks,” offensive tackle Penei Sewell said. “That kind of threw us off, but we settled in and found our groove.”


Sewell said offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s halftime adjustments were key.

“He makes a lot, to be honest,” Sewell said. “Tonight, they gave us a look we've never seen. Them checking at the line of scrimmage was something different, he figured that (puzzle) out.”


The right decision

A player who didn’t want to be quoted quipped the reason the Lions had performed so well against the Vikings was because they had played their starters the previous week against the San Francisco 49ers.


You may remember the debate from last week about the Lions resting starters after it was determined the game’s result had no bearing on the playoff standings because Minnesota had topped Green Bay the previous day.

Lions coach Dan Campbell offered a rational explanation after that game, stating they had prepared the starters all week as if last Monday’s game would decide the top seed and it wouldn’t have been fair to trot out unprepared backups, namely second-year quarterback Hendon Hooker.


Milestone matters to teammates

Much like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers efforting to get receiver Mike Evans over 1,000 yards earlier in the day, Lions players wanted to get Jameson Williams his first 1,000-yard season.


Despite needing just 34 yards, the accomplishment didn't come until late in the fourth quarter, after St. Brown gave up his route to his teammate.

“I was super excited,” St. Brown said. “We knew he needed like 3 more yards on that last drive, so we actually switched positions, me and him. He got the screen, I think there was a pass interference or something so it got called back.


“I was like, 'Damn, that would have been a perfect one.' We went right back to it and he got it,” St. Brown said. “I'm so happy for him. He's worked so hard. 1,000 means a lot in the league. I don't care what anyone says.

Williams finished the season with 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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Bluesky: Justin-Rogers

[DanO]

Wildcard weekend best case scenario. The 4 teams I'd rather not play are playing each other.

LOL. Same here.

[DanO]

It will be fun having next week off and rooting for Green Bay and Minnesota to lose. I know Philly would be a nice team to have out of the playoffs, but it’s in my DNA to root against our division

I want the Packers and the Vikings out. We've already beat both twice and I don't want to try for three.