By Roy J. Akers-www.skyviewsports.net
It was a forgone conclusion. The NFL has announced that the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings will play the final game of the 2024 regular season on Sunday Night Football on NBC. It had to be an open secret among both NFL teams and fans. There are always dog games toward the end of the season as NFL players out of the playoff hunt are thinking about their next contracts, and the teams and fans are thinking about their draft positions and free agents. That takes us to “They said it.”
Sam Darnold on beating Green Bay
“It was just mayhem,” Darnold said of the postgame locker room scene following a 27-25 win over Green Bay. “I think I blacked out when Aaron Jones grabbed me and lifted me up.”
NBC’s Jason Garrett on the Vikings
“Minnesota is the most underappreciated 14-win team in the NFL. They just win every week and the Sam Darnold story is off the charts.” – Jason Garrett on the 14-2 Vikings
Could Minnesota catch Detroit? Detroit needs to lose against San Francisco on MNF and beat the Lions in week 18.
Lions Coach Dan Campbell on learning from their NFC Championship loss
“Those stick with you and we just didn’t do enough,” Campbell said Saturday at Lions facility in Allen Park. “You learn from every experience and unfortunately, that’s the best way to learn, is from the losses. It really is.”
The Lions travel to San Francisco on Monday night for a rematch against the 49ers who overcame a 17-point second half deficit to beat Detroit to reach the Super Bowl.
“You don’t want to go through that feeling again,” Campbell said. “That means you got to prepare a certain way, you got to play a certain way, everything that you talk about, for that opponent, for that week, and it’s as simple as that, man. This is the next opponent in front of us and just keep your cool, keep your composure, stay disciplined, do the little things that it takes to win a game, and it really is that simple.”
Tidbit: Lions-Vikings will be fourth game in NFL history with two teams 10 games over .500 Look below for the other three games. One, you have to go back nearly 100 years.
Love for Jayden Daniels
Tony Dungy on how the Falcons are preparing to face Commanders QB Jayden Daniels: “The last time we had Atlanta [Week 3 on Sunday Night Football] they were playing Kansas City and Michael Penix simulated Patrick Mahomes [in practice]. Penix is the starter now, so the Falcons signed a practice squad quarterback, Emory Jones, just to simulate Jayden Daniels.”
Jason Garrett on Penix Jr.: “I absolutely loved the guy coming out of school. He has the trait that all the great passers have. He sees the game, feels the game, and when there’s people around him, he stands in there and rips it. But the biggest takeaway for me is the poise and the calm. A lot of rookie quarterbacks look like a chicken with their head cut off…He did not look like a rookie quarterback.”
On Watching Teammates give up
Four regular season matchups in NFL history where both teams are ten games over .500.
The answer to the other three games where both teams were ten games over 500 when playing.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Vikings-Lions game will join a 2005 game between the Seahawks and Colts, a 1983 Washington-Dallas clash and a 1926 clash between the Bears and the Frankford Yellow Jackets as the only games to kick off under such conditions.
Roy J. Akers covers the NFL and other sports for www.skyviewsports.net
