Detroit Lions’ NFC North foes faceplant in Wild Card round

They say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season in the NFL. That trope, while logical considering the familiarity divisional teams have with each other, doesn’t really hold up to statistical evidence. For the Detroit Lions, it won’t matter this year. Detroit swept the difficult NFC North in 2024, but both the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers still clawed their way into the playoffs, potentially setting up a “have to beat them a third time” matchup with Detroit in the postseason.

However, both the Vikings and Packers were eliminated this weekend after dropping serious eggs in their Wild Card matchup. From the Lions’ point of view, it was hilarious and satisfying to see teams that took the Lions to the wire in divisional standings get exposed in the postseason. For the teams themselves, it was a stark reminder of how far they still have to go to catch the Lions and other NFC contenders.

Let’s take a closer look at both games, simply because it’s fun.

Packers, Jordan Love lifeless in 22-10 loss to Eagles

Last year, Green Bay made a deep playoff run as the seven seed in the, upsetting the Dallas Cowboys in a blowout fashion and nearly taking out the 49ers. Packers fans were hopeful they could do it again as the seven seed this year, but Sunday’s game was a disaster from the opening kickoff, which Green Bay promptly fumbled. Within two minutes, they were already down 7-0.

To Green Bay’s credit, their defense played way better than expected. A middling unit all season, the Packers defense managed to hold the Eagles to just 290 yards of offense and just 15 points outside of that early touchdown. Even though Saquon Barkley finished with 119 rushing yards, his overall efficiency was poor, earning a -2.1 EPA in the game—ranking ninth among the 14 qualified running backs in Wild Card weekend (min. seven carries).

But that defensive effort was completely wasted by a disastrous performance on offense. Jordan Love was completely out of sorts all game, finishing 20-of-33 for 212 yards, zero touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 41.5 passer rating. It was his worst performance of the year by passer rating, second worst by yards per attempt (6.4), and it was only the third time in his career he’s thrown three interceptions. His -8.7 EPA ranked ninth out of the 12 Wild Card quarterbacks.

Love was undeniably bad in this game, but he wasn’t helped by the mounting injuries the Packers had in the game. Already without Christian Watson, who tore his ACL in the regular season finale, Green Bay lost both Romeo Doubs (concussion) and Jayden Reed (dislocated shoulder) during the game—on top of some injuries on both the offensive and defensive line.

But injuries aren’t an excuse for a game that they were never truly in.

Clock strikes midnight on Sam Darnold in Vikings’ 27-9 loss to Rams

Speaking of terrible quarterback play, Sam Darnold looked completely flummoxed for the second week in a row. After the Detroit Lions gave Darnold issues with accuracy and reads, the Rams did exactly the same—in even more chaotic fashion for Darnold.

The Vikings quarterback was sacked nine times, threw one interception, and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown against the Rams. He, again, struggled with accuracy, held onto the ball too long, and just didn’t seem up to the moment. There were question whether Darnold could handle a high-stakes game after last week’s dud against the Lions, and he certainly didn’t qualm those fears after Monday’s performance. He finished Wild Card weekend with the week’s worst EPA (-27.4), second-lowest completion percentage over expected (-4.6%), and lowest yards per attempt (6.1).

With Darnold heading toward free agency, there are serious questions about what the Vikings will do at quarterback. Obviously, they drafted J.J. McCarthy to be their long-term starter, and he was even potentially on track to start Week 1 before tearing his meniscus. However, Darnold made a great case to return and challenge for that starting spot during the regular season, finishing fifth in the NFL in yards, sixth in passer rating, and fifth in touchdowns. But with back-to-back dreadful performances in big moments, McCarthy may be inevitable in 2025. As for Darnold, these lackluster games on a national stage may have cost him a ton of money heading into free agency.

Minnesota’s future will be an interesting one to follow. Not only will they possibly be starting a “rookie” quarterback, but they also had the oldest roster in football in 2024, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores is catching head coach interviews. It won’t be easy for them to repeat their 14-4 season, even if this season was originally billed as a “rebuilding” one.