For all the improvement Sam Darnold displayed this season, this was not his night.
The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions battled on Sunday Night Football to determine the NFC's No. 1 seed, and the Lions‘ pass rush flustered Darnold enough to make him look like a shell of his 2024 self. Aaron Glenn's defense generated 22 pressures, and Darnold went just 3-of-13 passing on those plays. The constant pressure helped the Lions win 31-9 and clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Detroit's offense also appeared shaky at first, but the unit strung together three touchdown drives in the second half — all capped by Jahmyr Gibbs — to pull away. Gibbs' big night on offense, featuring four touchdowns and 170 all-purpose yards, and Amik Robertson‘s sensational defensive effort to limit Justin Jefferson were the keys to victory for Detroit.
And now the NFC North crown belongs to the Lions for the second straight year.
PFF's dedicated team of graders was hard at work, analyzing every player on every play in real time. The grades and data will be available after a thorough review tomorrow at noon ET.
In the meantime, we’ve gathered some high-level data and snap counts from the game to give you an early look. Our expert graders have also nominated the standout player of the game, highlighting exceptional performance on the field.
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HIGHEST-GRADED PLAYERS
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions (90.1)
- LB Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions (82.9)
- EDGE Jonathan Greenard, Minnesota Vikings (78.0)
Note: Follow along with PFF's in-game grading as our analysts evaluate every player on every play in real time! Grades will then be relocked 90 minutes after the final whistle as our first-run analysis is reviewed.
Click here to see PFF's initial grades from this game!
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The Lions pulled away in the second half thanks to touchdown after touchdown after touchdown by Jahmyr Gibbs. The second-year running back accounted for eight first-down runs, four missed tackles forced and four touchdowns to close out the regular season, in addition to his 170 all-purpose yards.
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