One of the people who will be watching the game closely is Neal Guggemos.
With a win, the Vikings essentially crush any hopes of Detroit winning the NFC North. In order to win the division, Detroit would have to pick up three games and hope for a tie breaker.
Although the Lions and Cowboys started this NFL tradition, football being played on turkey day started years before the NFL was even a thought. And based on this awesome celebration of quarterback Case Keenum's rushing touchdown against the rival Detroit Lions, the Vikings might be struggling to cope with such a reality.
"We knew it would be tough to come in here and get a win". They bottled quarterback Matt Stafford, who came into the game on the roll. Seven victories as a starter and another in relief of Sam Bradford, he shred the journeyman's label for a coast-to-coast television audience that watched Keenum outplay veteran gunslinger Stafford. The Vikings will travel to face the Atlanta Falcons (6-4) next Sunday and the Detroit Lions will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) next Sunday.
"Any time an opposing defense gets pressure on you, that obviously makes it harder to throw the ball", Keenum said after the game.
"We have a ton of playmakers on offense", Rudolph said.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a double-digit lead and they won their seventh straight game. They're a little banged up along the offensive line, though TJ Lang and Taylor Decker are back, and that's a big deal.
Detroit's defense will welcome the return of defensive end Ziggy Ansah, however. These will require you to login through your cable or OTT subscriptions. "Today he seemed like he was more settled". From sun up to sun down, every day, he works to maintain his body's performance, applying tricks of the trade he's picked up from the veterans he's shared a locker room with in Detroit - from Calvin Johnson to Anquan Boldin to Lance Moore. Would it take a poor first half for Zimmer to turn to his franchise quarterback? "I'm out there playing and doing what I do".
To open the season, Stefon Diggs dominated opposing defenses with 22 receptions for 391 yards in his first four weeks.
"We almost lost our composure a couple times", Zimmer said. He is an expert at getting the corner to flip their hips and then ruining them the other way. End of the day, it's a long season, anything can happen and this team got a fighting spirit.
Cornerback Xavier Rhodes intercepted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to seal the game, after the Vikings let the Lions hang around far too long.
The Vikings' lead, sitting at a comfortable 17 points early in the third quarter, had dwindled to 27-23 in the first minute of the fourth. The blame can't be put on Forbath, even though he leads the league with most missed extra points (five). Minnesota promptly drove 80 yards in 14 plays, scoring the opening touchdown on a 1-yard pass when the Lions had only 10 men on the field. "We didn't play well enough to win", Stafford said. He's not going to be rivaling Odell Beckham or Jarvis Landry for one-handers, but Thielen extends and plucks balls out of the air like few others today.
