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The Vikings and the Lions had plenty to play for when they capped off the regular season on Sunday in a game where Detroit ultimately came away with the win. The losing team went to great lengths in the hopes its fans would be able to give them a boost on the road, but the franchise ultimately dropped millions of dollars with nothing to show for it thanks to what transpired.
The Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions had both firmly earned a spot in the playoffs ahead of their regular season finale, but both teams had the chance to clinch the NFC North and earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage for the entirety of the postseason by securing the conference’s top seed with a win.
A loss was almost just as impactful, as the team that ended up defeated would be forced to settle for a wild card spot and play the first round on the road despite finishing the season with 14 wins.
The Lions were listed as 3-point favorites to beat a Vikings squad they topped by a score of 31-29 when the two teams met in Minnesota in October, and it seemed like we were going to be treated to a pretty hard-fought Sunday Night Football battle.
However, that did not end up being the case.
Detroit headed into the locker room with a 10-6 lead at halftime before kicking things into high gear after returning to the field, as they responded to a Vikings field goal that narrowed their lead to one with 21 unanswered points while coasting to a 31-9 victory.
Prior to the game, Sports Illustrated reported Minnesota had dropped nearly $2 million on tickets behind its sideline at Ford Field that the franchise subsequently resold to close to 2,000 season-ticket holders who were able to scoop them up at a steep discount in the hopes they’d be able to give the team an edge—a ruse the Lions reported to the NFL before the league confirmed the Vikings hadn’t broken any rules.
Unfortunately, any fans who took advantage were treated to a pretty dismal beatdown and saw their signature “Skol” chant defiled by the Detroit faithful as their team was left holding most of the bag.