You can never be too old to enjoy a Christmas classic. Just ask Harrison Smith and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings defense.

Smith – who will turn 37 in just under five weeks – delivered another vintage performance in Purple (or in this case, Winter Whiteout) against the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings safety nabbed his 39^th career interception to go along with a sack (No. 21.5 of his 14-year career), a pair of tackles for a loss and a trio of passes defensed. He also made his 202^nd career regular-season start, moving "The Hitman" past Pro Football Hall of Famer and Vikings Ring of Honor member Carl Eller for third in franchise history.

With their savvy defensive veteran leading the way, the Vikings (8-8) dominated Detroit (8-8), forcing six takeaways and sacking Lions quarterback Jared Goff five times in a 23-10 rout. Detroit entered the game with only eight giveaways as an offense all season, which was the fewest in the NFL. According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings also held the Lions to a season-low offensive success rate of 29.7 percent. Detroit's previous low in the category was 33.9 percent, which also came against Minnesota in Week 9.

Thursday was the 34^th time in franchise history Minnesota has recorded at least six takeaways in a game and its first since Week 15 of the 2019 season (the Vikings forced seven turnovers at the Chargers in a 39-10 victory). Of those 34 instances, seven have come against the Lions, which is the most against any opponent. Minnesota is 25-7-2 all time when tallying six or more takeaways in a game and has won 21 consecutive games when doing so going back to the 1973 NFC Championship Game at Dallas.

The game also marked just the second time ever the Vikings have won the turnover battle 6-0 or better. The only other occurrence was in Week 8 of the 1975 season when Minnesota forced eight Atlanta turnovers and didn't turn the ball over in a 38-0 shutout victory.

Additionally, the win gave Minnesota its first season sweep of Detroit since 2020. Last year, the Vikings swept Green Bay in the regular season for the first time since 2017; coincidentally, Minnesota not only accomplished both feats in Week 17 home victories, it also occurred in the 50^th regular-season game for Head Coach Kevin O'Connell (last year) and Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores (Thursday) in their coaching roles with the Vikings.

Minnesota's fourth consecutive victory did the following:

— Brought the Vikings back to the .500 mark with one game remaining.

— Eliminated the Lions from playoff contention while clinchig the final Wild Card spot for the Packers (9-6-1), who come to town on Sunday to close the regular season.

— Move the Vikings up in this week's Power Rankings, with the biggest jump being three spots.

Here's a look at where the Vikings landed heading into Week 18:

No. 16 (up 3 spots): Eric Edholm, NFL.com

I know Kevin O'Connell can coach. He has logged 13- and 14-win seasons, somehow kept his 2023 team competitive with a mishmash of quarterbacks and essentially has done the same in 2025 with significant shortcomings at the game's most important position. Winning a divisional bout with 3 net passing yards is something I'd brag about at parties. At 8-8, the Vikings can finish a trying season with a winning record by beating Green Bay at home – and the Packers are locked into the No. 7 seed, meaning they'll likely rest players on Sunday. That's why this season hasn't buried my belief in O'Connell, and I am still willing to envision a scenario where J.J. McCarthy starts putting it together next year. We'll see if another team tries to poach Brian Flores for a head-coaching opening, and Harrison Smith could retire, but I suspect this is still a team that can compete in 2026.

No. 19 (no change): Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report

Here's arguably the best (or worst) statistic anyone has ever seen: Max Brosmer became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to see his team win after throwing for fewer than 70 passing yards, while being sacked at least seven times.

The Vikings played spoiler Saturday thanks to Brian Flores' ultra-aggressive defense. Also, Harrison Smith apparently found the Fountain of Youth prior to the contest since the 36-year-old safety registered a sack, two tackles for loss, three defended passes and an interception.

Minnesota can still squeak past the .500 mark to finish the season, and it can do so thanks to the team's defense.

No. 18 (up 1 spot): Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

Brian Flores has his defense playing unreal football.

No. 17 (up 3 spots): Nate Davis, USA Today

WR Justin Jefferson's 59.2 receiving yards per game are, by far, the fewest of his career − through no fault of his own. But hit that average in Week 18, and he'd join Mike Evans and Randy Moss as the only players to top 1,000 in each of his first six seasons.

No. 16 (up 3 spots): Josh Kendall, The Athletic

Minnesota has won four in a row, restoring the can't-miss-kid status to Kevin O'Connell that had started to wane after a 4-8 start that saw the Vikings eliminated from the playoffs. Still, O'Connell has ultimately tied his fate to that of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who missed Thursday's game with a hand injury and has only started nine games in two years. The results have been mixed (5-4 with an EPA that ranks 52nd among quarterbacks with more than 100 pass attempts in the last two years).

No. 18 (up 1 spot): Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

The Vikings have rallied to get to .500 despite their issues at quarterback and growing pains for J.J. McCarthy in particular. Kevin O'Connell is reminding everyone of his coaching chops late, and watch out for them vs. the Packers.

No. 16 (no change): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports

Last season, the Colts won eight games despite a team passer rating of 75.8, which was 31st in the NFL. They got better quarterback play in 2025 and were 7-1 before a losing streak and injuries derailed them. The Vikings are 8-8 despite a team passer rating of 74.3, which ranks 31st in the NFL. The Vikings are clearly good enough to be a playoff team in 2026 with decent quarterback play. The question will be how to get that upgrade at QB, whether it's from J.J. McCarthy or elsewhere.

See the Vikings 2026 Opponents.

Check out the Vikings 2026 Draft Picks.

View future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.