As if the Detroit Lions' season couldn't get any weirder, they're set to face off with a different Minnesota Vikings quarterback than the one they faced back in Week 9.
J.J. McCarthy has been officially ruled out of the Vikings Week 17 contest against the Lions on Christmas Day, per head coach Kevin O'Connell.
The struggling first-year signal caller has suffered a hand injury that will leave him on the sidelines against the Lions. Minnesota has already been eliminated from the postseason, but McCarthy will not be on the field with the motivation of playing spoiler to the Lions' slim postseason chances.
Max Brosmer will be starting for the Vikings on Christmas. Brosmer, another rookie, has not impressed in his appearances so far this year for Minnesota.
This change at quarterback might've just pushed the Lions' chances of winning the game from a possibility to a near-certainty, although it's never a good idea to discount just how down bad this Lions defense can be in 2025.
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Lions fans should not automatically assume that the team will just walk down the Vikings in their Thursday contest. Detroit already lost one game to Minnesota earlier this year, which has suddenly become a game with significant importance to the Lions' postseason chances.
Had they beaten McCarthy and the Vikings in Week 9, their record would be 9-6. That's half a win out of the Packers, who are currently in control of the final NFC spot in the postseason. The Lions now have to win this game against the Vikings to stay within reach of a spot, which becomes even more attainable if the Packers lose to the Baltimore Ravens during Saturday night football.
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Again, the Lions' defense has been faltering beyond belief this season, and their defensive line has struggled especially to get to quarterbacks in an effective enough way to generate turnovers. They're one of the slowest teams to get quarterback pressure in the NFL, which puts a lot of pressure on their broken down secondary to perform.
They'll still need to worry about the threat of Justin Jefferson as WR1 on Thursday, who might be looking for some revenge after missing out on the Pro Bowl to Amon-Ra St. Brown. What better way to prove the voters wrong than to eliminate the very team rostering a receiver chosen ahead of you?
We'll see if the Vikings play the Grinch to the Lions on Thursday, or if Detroit can manage to leave them a huge pile of coal to add the finishing touches to a very disappointing season for O'Connell and the Vikings.