The Lions and Vikings, NFC North rivals, meet on Christmas Day in the second of three NFL holiday games. The Motor City mavens look to end their first two-game losing streak since 2022, while the Vikes aim to claw their way back to .500 with their fourth straight win.
The contest kicks off Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET on Netflix.
Below, we'll break down our Lions and Vikings prediction and Christmas Day picks for Week 17, including the top player picks on PrizePicks real money NFL game, including Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Vikings WR Justin Jefferson.
Lions vs. Vikings Over/Under Picks, Spread, Over/Under
The Lions took the first of their two meetings with the Vikings, a Week 9 27-24 thriller in Detroit.
Last season, the two teams met in a Week 18 showdown as 14-2 teams in a game that decided the NFC’s No. 1 seed. That’s not the case this year as the Vikings are already eliminated from the postseason and will be without QB J.J. McCarthy, who has been shut down for the season; raw backup signal caller Max Brosmer will get the start.
The Lions have been eliminated from winning the NFC North, but look to stay alive in the Wild Card race.
Lions vs. Vikings Over/Under, Spread
The Lions enter the Christmas game as 7.5-point road favorites, returning a 1.26x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win.
The Vikings are big underdogs with a 3.7x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Detroit Lions -7.5
- Total: 42.5
- Game Winner Payout: Lions 1.26x | Vikings 3.7x
Lions vs. Vikings Prediction on Spread
The Vikings join the Commanders and Chiefs as home underdogs of 7+ points Christmas Day.
- The Lions are 7-8 against the spread this season, the worst campaign against the number since Dan Campbell took over in 2021.
- Since Campbell arrived, the Lions are 25 games over .500 against the spread, five games better than any other team.
- Detroit is 2-1 as a road favorite this season, with the one loss last week in Pittsburgh.
- The Lions have been favored by more than a TD on six occasions this season, covering three times.
- Campbell's crew enters Week 17 ranked second in the league in scoring offense at 30.1 points per game. They are third in the league in both total offense and passing offense.
- On the defensive side, Detroit sits 23rd in scoring defense at 24.9 PPG.
- The Vikings are 7-8 against the spread this season, covering in each of the last three games.
- This will be the third time this season the Vikings are a home dog. They are 0-2 in those spots, failing to cover in losses to the Ravens and Eagles.
- The Vikings are 26th in the NFL, averaging 20.3 PPG. They also are 25th or worst in total offense, passing and rushing.
- On the defensive side, the Vikings are 11th in the NFL, allowing 21.3 PPG, fifth in total defense and third in passing D.
Lions vs. Vikings Prediction, Picks for Christmas Day
Here are three Lions vs. Vikings player picks for Christmas Day for PrizePicks real money NFL game, including Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Vikings WR Justin Jefferson.
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Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs Projection vs. Vikings: 73.5 Rush Yards
- Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs has failed to reach his projected rushing yards in four straight and five of last six.
- The 2 rushing yards Gibbs recorded last week were a career-low and his 7 carries tied a career-low, from the first two games of his career.
- Gibbs has been boom or bust since November, with 219- and 142-yard performances, as well as five games with fewer than 45 yards.
- The Lions RB ranks seventh in the NFL with 1,102 rushing yards, and tied for second in both rushing TDs (13) average yards per rush (5.3).
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Projection vs. Vikings: 79.5 Receiving Yards
- Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has hit more than his projected receiving yards in nine of 15 games this season.
- The listed projected receiving mark of 79.5 yards is the third-highest projection of the season for St. Brown.
- The Sun God has recorded 90+ yards in three of his last four full games played.
- The Lions WR is averaging 9.6 targets per game, sixth-best in the NFL. If you take the Thanksgiving game out of the equation — the game in which got hurt early in the first quarter — he is averaging 10.2 targets a game, second-most in the league.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson Projection vs. Lions: 60.5 Rush Yards
- Vikings WR Justin Jefferson has failed to reach his receiving projection in nine of 15 games this season.
- Jefferson hit more than his projection last week for the first time since Week 7.
- The listed player projection of 60.5 receiving yards is tied for his third-lowest over the last two seasons for Jefferson. His lowest was last week, a projection of 52.5.
- The LSU product averages 61.1 receiving yards a game, just over his projection and the lowest of his career.
Make Lions vs. Vikings Christmas Day Predictions on PrizePicks
Can the Lions sweep the Vikings and remain alive in the playoff race? Or can the Vikings continue to play spoiler as they have over the last month. The Lions and Vikings Christmas Day game kicks off Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET on Netflix.
As the NFL season enters its 17th week, there's no better place to get real money action with your NFL predictions than on PrizePicks.
There is a wide variety of player stat projections on the NFL board, so you can make predictions on whatever you'd like — from yards to field goals. Just pick your players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in on your predictions if you're right.
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