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We're back from the oddly-timed "minibye" of sorts that resulted in Minnesota being one of six NFL teams to play a game on Christmas this season.

The Vikings demolished the Detroit Lions for a 23-10 win last Thursday to secure Minnesota's fourth consecutive victory, evening the squad's record to 8-8.

Ironically, the victory secured a playoff spot for the Packers, who dropped to 9-6-1 Saturday with a 41-24 home loss to Baltimore. Green Bay will visit U.S. Bank Stadium at noon (CT) Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Week 18 to conclude the regular season.

There's speculation that Vikings safety Harrison Smith could retire following this season, his 14^th in Purple, but he has not said that. Instead, he's just continued to cement his legacy as one of the greatest safeties to ever play in the NFL.

Smith's influence was all over Thursday's outcome (and has been for the past several weeks of impressive defensive performances), including a sack out of the gate and an interception that was one of six Vikings takeaways.

It was his 202^nd regular-season start, moving him past a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer and Vikings Ring of Honor member Carl Eller for third in team history, and an absolute legacy game for a player who leads active NFLers with 39 career interceptions and has 21.5 career sacks.

While we're on the subject of legacy, please indulge me a few comments about departing Vice President of Content and Production Bryan Harper. After 22 Vikings seasons (kind of an appropriate number with the heater that No. 22 in Purple, White, Winter Warrior and Vikings Classic is on), Harp' is heading to the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. His last game was Thursday, so that means the upcoming game will be the first without Harper in the organization since 2003.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connnell was asked about a "curtain call" moment of sorts in the game where fans tributed Smith, and he included comments about game presentation, which has firmly established itself as one of the tops in the industry.

"We've got the greatest fans in the world, and I know our players feel that. We feel a connection with our fans, just because of knowing how lucky and fortunate we are to have them, and obviously this beautiful facility we play in, the environment that our fans build, the people that put on our game presentation," O'Connell said. "It's unique. It's 1-of-1. And I always love those moments when our players can get really welcomed, just kind of positively received by our fans there when we're kind of in a good position in the football game."

Harp's role included game presentation (Hello, SKOL Chant and recurring industry awards), season-long audio broadcasting (plus preseason TV simulcasts), video productions, social media, photography and editorial content.

Beyond industrial and institutional knowledge and judgement, the role is best filled by someone who can embody the rare heart, passion and gumption that Harp' brought. Vikings Entertainment Network started humbly with a couple of full-timers (some charter members are still here) and has grown so much in two-plus decades.

I still remember my day-long job interview with the Vikings back in September 2014 that included a session with Harp'. By this time, I had four (non-full-time) seasons in the NFL and had been in the final five candidates for roles with three other teams in a span of five months.

Every day for 11-plus years and nearly 12 full seasons, I've tried to match the heart, passion and gumption I perceived to show my appreciation for Harp' and the Vikings organization extending the offer that others did not.

Although his new locale is going to be sandy instead of snowy, I know Harp' will still bleed Purple.

And lastly, I'll mention Jim Marshall, who passed away in June. Marshall would have turned 88 this Tuesday. This was the first Vikings season ever without him as part of the organization in some capacity, and this will be the planet's first January without Marshall's light since 1937. We will keep telling stories about The Captain.

Pivoting, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoys peace and blessings in the new year.

Despite all the injuries (especially on offense) … WHAT A VICTORY! Kudos to the defense & to our kicker and punter. Also, being 8-8 might sound disappointing, but the injury situation could not have been worse for this OFFENSE (linemen & QB). No QB can perform well IF missing key offensive linemen, such as LT or C. More quality depth is certainly a must for next season. Also is there any way ($$$) we could keep Flores? Is there any way we could convince Harry to return for one great successful season? Despite our struggles this season, we are extremely close to being a top team next year. Now if only we could get that cupcake schedule for next season & play the bottom teams in those three weak divisions. This is a good week to let the injured players heal & recover.

— Dan in Florida

Might as well start with an attaboy for kicker Will Reichard and punter Ryan Wright. Reichard arrived at the game wearing Christmas pajamas and house slippers; Wright showed up donning a sweater with Santa swinging a golf club.

Neither took the holiday off from their spectacular seasons. I thought Reichard might get a nod for the Pro Bowl but knew it was going to be tough sledding against incumbent Brandon Aubrey. Perhaps the voters from The Associated Press will designate Reichard an All-Pro, which will be announced in January.

Despite Detroit's vaunted offense, which, like Minnesota, was missing key offensive linemen, the game became a night of defense, special teams and one electric jet sweep by Jordan Addison.

I've seen some people on social media complain that the Vikings winning has been to the detriment of draft pick status or the part of next year's schedule that is determined by order of finish, but there's something to be said about a team coming together after a 4-8 start and getting things to as good of a place as it could with one more game remaining.

There will be a few comments regarding Flores, but on the topic of him and Smith, it is demonstrable how much the coach has enjoyed the player, and how much the player has enjoyed the coach.

Moves that were made this past offseason were done with consideration to the previous year in which Minnesota only lost twice each to the Lions and Rams. It's obviously a different iteration of Lions, as well, but Minnesota did sweep the series for the first time since 2020.

I believe people can trust that Minnesota's self-assessment of what did or did not materialize this season will be comprehensive and positioning for better results will be the goal.

There is the caveat that the schedule did soften some after November, but it seems like the defense is at a peak. Unfortunately, the lack of continuity on offense caused by injuries and too many losses before December will keep this team from being one that no one wants to face in the postseason.

This Christmas was awesome! Now to the game: sweeping the Lions and knocking them out of the playoffs was placing a bow on that present. Defense played their tails off, and I've had the pleasure of watching some pretty impressive Viking defenses over the years! Front office needs to do whatever it needs to do to keep Flo'. If he doesn't get a HC job offer, WE NEED TO KEEP HIM! Lastly, I hope "The Hitman" comes back for one more season. The 2026-27 season, we're going to make some noise. Happy New Year!

— Rick O. in Stillwater, Oklahoma … SKOL

The takeaway volcano erupted twice this season for the Vikings. The first instance was five, which included two defensive touchdowns in the absolute obliteration of Cincinnati in Week 3. The second was last week with the plus-six margin against a Detroit squad that entered Week 17 leading the league with only eight giveaways.

Minus those 11, the Vikings have only recorded 10 takeaways in their other 14 games, and it's not for a lack of trying. It seemed so often that a Minnesota player was on the verge, only for a tipped pass to fall incomplete or for a fumble to be Shop-Vac'd to retain possession.

Eyes will be on a few things this offseason, but decisions by Flores and Smith are sure to garner considerable interest.

It's hard to even start to rank the night of plays made by the defense, but the way Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner met at the quarterback brought back some highlights of the Purple People Eaters doing similar things with narration by Pat Summerall or John Facenda.

I was so impressed by that victory over the Lions. The Lions are not a team that typically beats themselves, and you have to take the game against them to win. The Vikings did that in grand style — they absolutely took the Lions lunch money. Message to J.J. McCarthy — you have been watching winning football the past two weeks. Turnovers have wrecked this season. Max Brosmer may not have looked like a movie star out there, but we won in convincing fashion because he never gave the Lions a reason for hope. Throw out that game against the Seahawks, because Brosmer has not had a turnover since. People say QB is the hardest position to play in sports, but winning QBs don't need big numbers. They protect the ball and respect the efforts of their teammates by making sure that fumbles and interceptions are minimized.

I thought one of the bigger plays Brosmer had was hitting Aaron Jones, Sr., on a checkdown over the middle to avoid a sack right before the end of the half. That play allowed the Vikings to keep the ball until just a few seconds remained, and the defense put an exclamation point on that by sacking Jared Goff and sending the Lions into the locker room.

Skol!

— Gary L.

I think one could draw a line to the status of the offensive line of both teams and the box score.

If McCarthy returns this week, he'll have a chance to improve on a stat line that currently has room for aesthetics. He has thrown 11 touchdowns and suffered 12 interceptions, but several of those picks have accompanying stories. Back in Week 1, Justin Jefferson owned his role in what became a pick six by former teammate (and Pro Bowler) Nahshon Wright, and there have been tips at the line of scrimmage (at Dallas) and off receivers (at New York) more recently.

The sack fumble just before halftime against the Giants was a rough learning opportunity. McCarthy was struggling to grip the football. If that ever happens again, he will be more ready to dirt the ball, even if it involves a grounding penalty at that point in the game, or give himself up with the football protected.

McCarthy showed some resolve and some unflappability on the road at Dallas after his first pass attempt resulted in the pick, and the Vikings are 5-4 in McCarthy's starts. The most important thing for him going forward is health because it impacts his development curve.

Brosmer wound up 9-for-16 with 51 yards and was sacked seven times for combined losses of 48 yards, but he did protect the football in his second pro start.

Minnesota didn't have to put the ball at risk too often against Detroit.

O'Connell said this past week obviously won't go in his career's highlight reel for offense, but I do think he made some adjustments from his general preferences to what was required to emerge victoriously.

I am amazed we got six turnovers — four fumbles and two interceptions — wow! Too bad our offense couldn't do so much more with each of them? Brosmer filled his role well and hit Jefferson for the back-breaker first down. So nicely done.

Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Great call from the Vikings coaches in the booth for K.O. to challenge a Lions first down spot inside their own 20. It then becomes third-and-1, and Detroit serves up a fumbled snap for a Gink' recovery; followed by a short TD drive with Jones on the TD run. Nice all around.

2. Our defense opening the second half with a punt followed by interception. Excellent!

3. The fourth-quarter sweep to Addison. What a run and finish by him. I was amazed at his speed as he turned the corner.

DOWNS:

1. A first-quarter second-and-1 generates a wasted Vikings timeout? Then, after the wasted time out, we still cannot run for one yard? We have to be better than that.

2. Vikings literally give away any advantage from second fumble recovery. Third-and-5 on the cusp of FG range suddenly becomes third-and-15 after inexplicable back-to-back pre-snap penalties? Those two plays and the actual third down snap for a sack, all went down to zero seconds on the play clock? Sad and unacceptable in my mind.

3. The Vikings offense had too many long routes and deep dropbacks given our patched up offensive line.

— Jeff Ludwig

How about that use of a challenge? Kudos to Game Management Coordinator/Passing Game Specialist Ryan Cordell (and any others in the coaching booth) who helped O'Connell decide to challenge the spot.

Also, kudos to the camera technicians for having clear and obvious video of where the ball was when the runner was down.

Gink' had a tremendous night. He took the first football to the suite his family was enjoying for the game and handed it to his nephew. Van Ginkel managed to strike a daily double and delivered the second football to one of his sons.

Interestingly, the Addison TD occurred out of a timeout because the Vikings hadn't set up the play for success, so there can be a good use of a timeout, even though the general preference is to have all three preserved for end-of-half situations.

The defensive performance was essentially virtuoso, aside from one touchdown drive on which Detroit converted third-and-16, third-and-9, third-and-15, fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-goal from the 4.

Missing three starters on the offensive line, the starting quarterback, starting tight end and working through Jones being hurt on what appeared to be "teach tape" of to do a hip-drop tackle, led to lacking continuity. It will be interesting to see how Minnesota approaches this week against a Green Bay team that succeeded in creating havoc back in November.

Realistically, we should have beaten the …

1) Steelers

2) Eagles

3) Bears

Plenty of other games that were winnable (Ravens, Falcons), but these games, we actually gave away.

Think about if we were 11-5 right now instead of 8-8 with three different QBs and we've had our starting O-line for what two games?

Flores better not leave this offseason. The Wilfs should pay him like a head coach. They should give him whatever he wants to stay in Minnesota. Something is brewing here.

Reworking the O-line, drafting a real move TE, locking up some key FAs that contributed highly, backfilling the secondary, I mean we could be cooking.

Huge shout outs to Jalen Redmond, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Jay Ward, Theo Jackson, Eric Wilson, and many other men that have undoubtedly proven their worth as Vikings.

Plenty to build on for next season and the future, but this offseason feels tenuous. It feels like there are a TON of moving parts as we enter the final phase of the transition from the Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer brain trust into the fullness of the vision of the new regime. Can Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his team keep this core together? Can we hold on to Flores and keep pushing? Can we find actual success in this year's draft? Will K.O. consider offloading play-calling? Can we keep our window open before player turnover closes it for us?

Skol,

— Matt Boffa (Diehard Fan) in Newtown, Pennsylvania

The should-ha, could-ha and would-ha factors of this season have been incredibly high and hurtful for the Purple.

Had just one or a couple of plays gone differently against the Steelers, OR Eagles OR Bears (at home), then Minnesota would be playing for a playoff berth this week.

Undo the lapse by the coverage unit against Chicago, and the Vikings would even have math in place to win the NFC North.

Redmond, Van Ginkel, Turner, Ward and Jackson have all been acquired in various ways during the current leadership's tenure. Wilson was brought back by Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell after a few years away. He was originally an undrafted diamond mined during the Spielman/Zimmer years.

There's still a strong core of players, and the great hope is the momentum that has been built with December's answer to a dreadful November will lead to plentiful positive results next fall.

Oh, what an exciting game and what could have been in 2025: two wins over the Lions. Is there any better defense than the B. Flores Vikings defense? Please keep Coach Flores and his awesome players for next year. (Drafting a d-back like another Kyle Hamilton would be nice.) Yes, we were a little lucky, but this team makes luck. A big shout out to Harrison Smith. I was hoping he would get a sack, but to get an INT too! More records for him. True first vote HOF.

It was three years ago when K.O. was new as head coach and we had some very good offensive players, and we were looking good. I cautioned about injuries, when I was told the Vikings training and medical staff were first class. It looks like the big injury bug finally caught up with us this year. I believe J.J. McCarthy can be the SB winner we have been looking for if he can stay healthy.

I hope the Vikings can keep as many of this year's team as possible with the addition of good OL, center and DL backup draft picks.

Let's beat Packers.

SKOL,

— Gill Sorg in New Mexico

Smith's candidacy for the Hall of Fame, whether as a first-ballot player or not, is incredibly strong. It's been impressive to see just how much impact he's had on games before the football has been snapped, as well as the massive plays he's been making.

I think the track record for Minnesota's health and performance staff is good and well-respected. No team can completely prevent injuries, but setbacks can be managed through preventative care and treatment/rehab. It does seem like some seasons have more injuries than others.

What a game? Blake Cashman was all over the place. He was like a heat-seeking missile. He was quick to the ball, and he fought to limit any progress from the Detroit offense. They had to fight for every yard they got, and he was a big reason for that. It was a great game for Blake Cashman.

— Gerald Goblirsch

Cashman just became the fourth NFL player since 1994 (record tracked since then) to record a 10-game streak of 9+ tackles in a single season league wide. He is the first to do it since Jerod Mayo had a 10-game streak in 2010. Only Chris Spielman (12 games in 1994) and Chad Brown (11 games in 1998) have had longer single-season streaks.

Press box statisticians tallied 17 for Cashman against the Lions, his most as a Viking. The only higher total by the Eden Prairie native was 19 in a 2023 game with Houston against Arizona.

He's also recorded nine games this season with 10+ tackles, passing a high mark previously owned by Chad Greenway (eight in 2012).

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