Sunday afternoon was a rare time when Detroit Lions fans were hoping the Green Bay Packers would score a victory. If the Packers could defeat the Minnesota Vikings, and the Lions were to prevail in San Francisco on Monday night in Week 17, the Week 18 matchup between the Vikings and Lions in Detroit wouldn’t mean anything.
Alas, the enemy of our enemy was not Detroit’s friend. The Vikings beat the Packers 27-25 to move to 14-2. Green Bay falls to 11-5. Minnesota has not lost since dropping two in a row in Weeks 7 and 8, to the Lions and Rams, respectively.
With the win, the Vikings ensured that the Week 18 game in Ford Field will decide both the NFC North division title as well as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Detroit’s outcome on Monday night doesn’t matter because if the Lions lose in San Francisco but then beat the Vikings in the finale, they would both finish 14-3, and the Lions would own the head-to-head tiebreaker by sweeping the Vikings.
Detroit won the first meeting, 31-29, back in Week 7 in Minnesota when kicker Jake Bates nailed a 44-yard game-winner with 15 seconds to play.
