In the second of three Christmas Day matchups in Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We’ll continue diving into all of the stand-alone games this season, and this one isn’t any different. With that in mind, keep reading for betting odds, picks and player props for this exciting showdown. Also, make sure you head over to our Week 17 NFL Betting Hub for a look at all of our NFL betting content.
MORE: Head to the Pro Picks page for best bets from all of our VSiN hosts and analysts!
How To Watch Lions vs. Vikings
When: Thursday, December 25th at 4:30 pm ET
Where: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Channel: Netflix
Lions vs. Vikings Odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday, December 23rd. Look around for the best prices!
Moneyline: Lions -375, Vikings +295
Spread: Lions -7.5 (-105), Vikings +7.5 (-115)
Total: Over 43.5 (-105), Under 43.5 (-115)
Lions vs. Vikings Analysis
The Vikings are on a three-game winning streak coming into this one — and they covered in all three games. Minnesota also happens to be eighth in the NFL in EPA per play allowed (-0.049), making this one of the best defenses in the league. The Vikings have also been even better since Week 9, as they have an EPA per play allowed of -0.075 over the last eight games. And over their last three games, they’re third in the league with an EPA per play allowed of -0.146.
Brian Flores, who is arguably the best defensive coordinator in football, just has his unit playing very well. Unfortunately for the Vikings, their fans, and their backers, J.J. McCarthy will miss this game. That means Max Brosmer will start for Minnesota. Brosmer started a game against the Seahawks back on November 30, throwing for only 126 yards with zero touchdowns and four interceptions. And one of the picks was a head-scratching decision that showed that Brosmer isn’t even capable of being a safe, game-managing distributor.
Detroit’s defense hasn’t been any good this season, ranking 20th in the NFL in EPA per play allowed (0.027). The team does, however, have some game-changing pass-rushers. So, in a must-win game for the Lions, I’d expect them to hunt Brosmer down and force him into some mistakes. And it should be much easier for the team to do that with center Ryan Kelly having been ruled out for the Vikings.
The Lions just need to find a way to score some points here. And while this has been a disappointing year for Detroit, the team is seventh in the NFL in EPA per play (0.103) and second in points per game (30.1). So, even against an elite defensive play caller, you’d have to think the Lions will be able to put up enough points to win this game somewhat comfortably — especially with the other team not being much of a threat to score.
Detroit also happens to be 13-3 against the spread as a road favorite under Dan Campbell, and the team has won those games by an average of 9.2 points per game. Campbell is also an impressive 5-1 ATS when facing a team that beat the Lions earlier in the year. I’d be surprised if his guys aren’t ready to go.
Lions vs. Vikings Player Props
Lean: Amon-Ra St. Brown Over 6.5 Receptions (-114)
St. Brown is a little banged up right now, as he’s dealing with a bad knee. However, if he goes, it’s highly likely he’ll find a way to produce. St. Brown only had four catches for 54 yards against the Steelers last week, but this is a much better matchup for him. In fact, when these teams met on November 2, St. Brown finished with nine catches for 97 yards. The Vikings do have a very good defense, but they don’t have any true shutdown corners. That’s why an elite separator like St. Brown should be able to make his mark on this game. And I expect Jared Goff to look his way a ton. The Lions need this game to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, so it’d be strange if he goes away from his go-to weapon.
Lions vs. Vikings Pick
I don’t see a pathway to the Vikings winning this game, but I can’t lay the points out of respect for Flores. His defense is back to looking like one of the best units in the entire league, which makes it a shame that McCarthy got hurt. Minnesota could have made a nice little run to end the season — which could have meant going over the regular-season win total of 8.5 — but it’s hard to see that happening now. That’s why a moneyline parlay with Dallas and Detroit is my favorite play on the Christmas Day NFL slate.
PARLAY: Cowboys ML vs. Commanders & Lions ML vs. Vikings (-143 – 1.5 units)
