Emotional Vikings Harrison Smith issues guarantee after crushing Lions

The Minnesota Vikings earned an unconventional win on Christmas Day, taking down the Detroit Lions 23-10 at US Bank Stadium thanks almost entirely to defense, special teams, and a single explosive offensive play. One of the night’s defining storylines belonged to veteran safety Harrison Smith, who followed one of the most statistically significant performances of his 14-year career with heartfelt postgame comments.

Smith played a major role in a game where Minnesota forced six turnovers and finished with a plus-6 turnover margin, the best by any NFL team this season and tied for the best in a single game over the past nine years, according to Sportradar. The Vikings moved to 8-8 with their fourth consecutive win after having already been eliminated from playoff contention. The loss dropped Detroit to 8-8, too, and ended the Lions’ playoff hopes.

During the game’s last two minutes, fans gave Smith a loud ovation, which continued when he spoke with former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber after the game. Back in the locker room, he couldn’t hide his emotions.

“I don’t want to get emotional about it, but it’s pretty special,” the 36-year-old said. “The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. Always show up. And for them to keep showing up…..

“It just shows how much they love their team. How much they love everything that goes into it. We’re out of the playoffs. Everybody shows up in white, they do their part. And one of these days, they’ll get it [a Super Bowl].”

Smith finished Thursday’s game with an interception of Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, his second of the season, along with one sack, two tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and a quarterback hit. The sack was his first of the season and raised his career total to 21.5, while his interception brought his career total to 38. Smith became just the second player in NFL history, along with Ronde Barber, to record at least 38 interceptions and 21.5 sacks. The sack also was his 50th career tackle for loss, making him only the 10th defensive back since tackles for loss began being tracked in 1999 to reach that figure. He is also one of just four players ever with 50 tackles for loss and 100 passes defensed while appearing in more than 200 games, joining Charles Woodson, Brian Dawkins, and Barber.

In 14 games this season, Smith has recorded 37 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, one sack, and one pass deflection. The win, which was his 26th career game against the Lions, improved his record to 15-11 versus Detroit.

Minnesota’s offense produced just three net passing yards, making the Vikings only the third team in the past 40 seasons to win a game with fewer than 10 net passing yards. Rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, making his second career start in place of the injured JJ McCarthy, went 9-of-16 for 51 yards while taking seven sacks but did not commit a turnover. Minnesota had just 75 total yards before Jordan Addison’s game-changing 65-yard jet sweep touchdown with 3:43 remaining, the longest score of his career. Will Reichard was responsible for the rest of the scoring, going 3-for-3 on field goals with a long of 56 yards.

The Lions managed 196 total yards, as Goff finished 18-of-29 for 197 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and three lost fumbles.

Minnesota will close the season at home against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18, while Detroit will travel to Chicago to face the Bears.

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