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There have been several Super Bowl matchups, in terms of the strength of both teams, that aren’t as good as Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions to finish this regular season.
The NFL caught a huge break when the Vikings held on to beat the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. That ensured the Vikings’ Week 18 game at the Lions would be for the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the conference. It had to be the easiest flex decision in the history of the league. The NFL moved the game to Sunday night, and there’s sure to be a playoff-level audience for it.
There aren’t many regular season matchups ever that can compare to what we’re going to see. Start with this: The matchup will feature the most combined wins for any regular-season game in NFL history.
The winner of Sunday night’s game will become just the ninth team in NFL history to finish a regular season with 15 or more wins. The loser will have the most wins of any wild-card team in history. The record was held by the 1999 Tennessee Titans, who had 13 wins. Even with the 17th game having been added to the schedule in 2021, that history being made by both teams is remarkable. It’s even harder to believe they happen to meet each other in the last game of the season.
It’s unprecedented for two teams with records this good to meet so late in the season. The fact that they’re divisional rivals and happened to be scheduled against each other for the final game of the regular season makes it a perfect storm.
Quarterback Jared Goff led the Detroit Lions to a dramatic win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Not many matchups compare to Vikings-Lions
Not all great matchups have produced great games. But there are only a few matchups that can be compared to this week’s Vikings at Lions clash.
The most anticipated regular-season matchup in NFL history might have come in 1990. The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers each started the season 10-0. Both teams lost their 11th game before…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/is-vikings-lions-finale-the-greatest-matchup-in-nfl-regular-season-history-150121806.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-31 15:01:00
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