The Vikings saw three net passing yards come sailing in, on Christmas Day in the afternoon.
The fact that they still won the game is stunning. And historic.
Via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Minnesota’s 23-10 nail-in-the-coffin to Detroit’s playoff hopes was only the fifth time in the Super Bowl era that a team won a game by 10 or more points with fewer than 10 net passing yards. It hadn’t happened in 47 years.
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The Packers beat the Chargers, 24-3, in 1978 with nine net passing yards. The Packers beat the Rams, 17-6, in 1974 with minus-one net passing yards. The Cardinals beat the Falcons, 32-10, in 1973 with nine net passing yards. And the Lions beats the 49ers, 26-14, in 1969 with one net passing yard.
Quarterback Max Brosmer completed nine of 16 passes for 51 yards for the Vikings. Brosmer was sacked seven times, losing 48 yards.
Neither Brosmer nor the rest of the Minnesota offense coughed up the ball. The Minnesota defense forced six turnovers — including five from quarterback Jared Goff.
The Vikings deserve plenty of credit for playing to win despite being eliminated from playoff contention 11 days ago. After starting 4-8, they’ve now won four in a row.
And the Lions deserve plenty of blame for failing to deliver a win when they needed it most. Especially when the Minnesota passing game was virtually nonexistent.
