The Detroit Lions‘ defense has allowed back-to-back games with over 300 passing yards heading into their Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Vikings. Moreover, the Lions’ secondary will be facing a Justin Jefferson coming off his best receiving performance in weeks.
Nonetheless, the Lions’ defense is also prone to giving up yards on the ground, as they have allowed over 100 rushing yards in three of their last five games. However, the team has improved in their previous two games, but the opposition has exploited them in the air.
Ahead of the game between the two NFC North rivals, Justin Jefferson spoke about Detroit’s defense, which has had some tough moments in recent weeks.
“I feel like [the Lions’ defense] has consistently been banged up late in the year in their secondary the past couple of years,” Jefferson said about the Lions’ defense while speaking to reporters on December 23. “So with that being in mind, it doesn’t really change anything.
“We still need to go out there and just play our own ball, [which] allow us to just go win and play freely. We know the attention is going to be on 18, the majority of the game. and that allows everyone else to eat on those 1-on-1 matchups. Let’s go out there and throw the ball up, and let’s go get.”
Vikings Will Go With Max Brosmer Against the Lions
Nonetheless, the quarterback looking to dissect the Lions’ defense will not be J.J. McCarthy; it will be rookie backup Max Brosmer. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced on December 23 that McCarthy will not play on Christmas Day against the Detroit Lions. As a result, Brosmer will start, but having the Michigan product miss another game this season is disappointing for O’Connell.
“It’s just a bummer,” O’Connell said (h/t ESPN). “It’s been really fun. … I know the week-to-week judgment of players and decisions and all these things that are noise in many cases, I understand it all. But the most fun part of this, and the most real part of it, is coaching the young player on his journey where we’ve really started to see, kind of, some things click for him.”
Vikings Are Confident in J.J. McCarthy Despite Latest Injury
Despite McCarthy dealing with another injury, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shared his thoughts on the young signal-caller heading into the final two games of the 2025 NFL season and into the offseason.
“There’s just been growth moments,“ Adofo-Mensah said during the December 23 edition of “X’s and O’s with Kevin O’Connell.“ “I try and make sure that my dialogue with him is incredibly positive because, if you think about this world, you got the external world who’s always going to be negative and then you’ve got coaching who are going to be positive, but they’re also going to coach them.
“I try and always make sure I’m highlighting, ‘Hey man, this is a great thing that I’m seeing you’re doing.‘ Things like playing really up in the pocket. A lot of young quarterbacks, when they get pressure in their face, they’re trying to bail out the back. He’s very good about getting up in the pocket either to make scrambles or make good decisions.”
Lions Defense Gets Blunt Message From Vikings’ Justin Jefferson