The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions 23-10 on Christmas Day with an offensive stat line that belongs in a time capsule. Max Brosmer completed 9 of 16 passes for 51 yards. He was sacked seven times for 48 yards lost.
Do the math: 3 net passing yards. That’s the fewest by any winning team since the Houston Texans beat the Raiders with -5 net passing yards in December 2006.
How Minnesota Won With 3 Net Passing Yards Against Detroit
The short answer: Brian Flores’ defense played like it had a personal vendetta against Jared Goff. The longer answer is that Goff looked like he’d never taken a snap under center.
Detroit coughed up the ball six times — the first time the Lions have done that since 2015.
Goff threw two interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter, both of which led to Will Reichard field goals. Byron Murphy Jr. picked off Goff deep in Vikings territory, and then Harrison Smith jumped a route to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the very next Detroit possession. It was a defensive clinic wrapped in a quarterback catastrophe.
Harrison Smith bringing more turnover joy to the @Vikings faithful!
DETvsMIN on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/itwuWloDeb
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2025
The Lions’ miscues started early. Late in the first quarter, Goff fumbled a snap in his own territory. Andrew Van Ginkel pounced on it at the Detroit 16, and five plays later, Aaron Jones plunged in from a yard out for the game’s first touchdown. The Vikings led 7-0, and their offense had done almost nothing to earn it.
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At halftime, Minnesota had -12 net passing yards. Brosmer wasn’t completing passes to either team — he had zero turnovers but also zero rhythm. The Vikings ran the ball when they could, absorbed sacks when they couldn’t, and waited for the defense to manufacture points. It worked.
Max Brosmer Survives Aidan Hutchinson, Delivers a Win
Hutchinson was a nightmare. The Lions’ star defensive end finished with 2 sacks, spinning past blockers like they weren’t there. He pushed his season total to 13.5 — a career high — and made Brosmer’s life miserable every time he dropped back.
But here’s what Brosmer didn’t do: He didn’t throw an interception. In his first career start at Seattle three weeks ago, he threw four picks in a 26-0 shutout loss. The rookie looked overwhelmed. Against Detroit, with everything stacked against him, he protected the ball and let the defense carry the load.
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Minnesota’s offensive breakthrough came from an unlikely source. With 3:43 remaining and the Vikings clinging to a 13-10 lead, Jordan Addison took a jet sweep handoff and broke it 65 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. One play. Game over. The Lions were cooked.
Reichard connected from 52, 56, and 42 yards to account for nine of Minnesota’s points. The Vikings rushed for 158 yards as a team, with Jones grinding out tough yardage and Ty Chandler chipping in. Justin Jefferson was mostly invisible — just four catches for 30 yards — but it didn’t matter.
Detroit’s playoff hopes died at U.S. Bank Stadium in the ugliest possible fashion. The Lions fell to 8-8 and will miss the postseason for the first time since 2022. Minnesota improved to 8-8 and has won four straight games behind a defense that hasn’t allowed a passing touchdown since Week 10.
Brosmer won’t make any highlight reels. His stat line looks like a typo. But he did exactly what Kevin O’Connell needed: Don’t lose the game. The defense handled the rest.
