Detroit, MI

Detroit-Minnesota ‘Game Of The Year’ Ends NFL Regular Season Sunday

Published

1 year ago

January 4, 2025

Detroit-Minnesota ‘Game Of The Year’ Ends NFL Regular Season Sunday

Quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions will meet Minnesota to determine the NFC North title Sunday … [+] night. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The NFL saved the prime-est of its prime-time TV lineup for the final game of the regular season Sunday.

The season could hardly end on a more dramatic note, with the AFC North and NFC North champions to be determined over the final two days.

The AFC North will winner will be determined Saturday, when the division-leading Baltimore Ravens (11-5) and the second-place Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) play home games within hours of each other.

Both are assured of playoff spots, and Baltimore will win the division with a victory over Cleveland. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker over the Ravens, and they will win the division with a victory over Cincinnati and a Baltimore loss. The Steelers’ game also has wild card implications, because the Bengals would get the last AFC playoff spot with a win and losses by Denver and Miami.

All leading to the finale. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, both 14-2, will end the season in what could be considered the game of the year. Only AFC No. 1 seed Kansas City (15-1) has a better record, and the rematch comes with huge stakes.

The Detroit-Minnesota winner will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Its first game would be at home against the lowest-remaining seed, inasmuch as the NFL reseeds the field after every round.

Because of the NFL playoff format, the loser will tumble all the way to the No. 5 seed and a first-round playoff game on the road, against either the Los Angeles Rams or the NFC South winner, Tampa Bay or Atlanta. The Buccaneers (9-7) will clinch the division with a win or a tie against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday or a loss by the Falcons (8-8), who own the tie-breaker.

Let the games begin:

Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are considered the top two candidates to win the 2024 MVP. (AP … [+] Photo/David J. Phillip)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Cleveland Browns (3-13) vs Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

How to watch: ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 4:30 pm ET

Key matchup: Derrick Henry vs Browns D

Early line: Ravens -19 1/2, up from -17 1/2

The Ravens are favored by as many as 20 1/2 points in some quarters — the largest point spread in the NFL since Arizona beat Houston 31-5 as a 20 1/2-point favorite in 2020. Baltimore looks to avenge a 29-24 loss in Cleveland on Oct. 27, a game that was decided when Jameis Winston threw the last of his three touchdown passes with 59 seconds remaining. It could be considered the biggest upset in the league this year.

Ravens’ MVP candidate Lamar Jackson will have one more chance to burnish his resume in his run for a second consecutive MVP award and third of his career. Jackson’s 121.6 passer rating is nearing Aaron Rodgers’ league season record of 122.5 in 2011.

If Derrick Henry reaches the end zone this week, he will earn a $500,000 bonus for his 15th … [+] touchdown of the season. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Henry will look for his ninth 100-yard rushing game of the season, with a cherry on top. If he scores a touchdown, he will trigger a $500,000 bonus with his 15th score. Henry already has netted $1.5 million in bonus money this season.

Winston will not play because of an injury, and the line moved even more toward Baltimore when Browns announced that Bailey Zappe will start. Zappe, a former New England reserve, has not played a game this season. Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett is tied for the league lead with 14 sacks.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)

How to watch: ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 pm

Key matchup: Joe Burrow vs Pittsburgh D

Early line: Bengals -2 1/2

Russell Wilson and the Steelers are in reach of the AFC North title. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

The Steelers will know by kickoff if they have a chance to win the NFC North title, although the chances seem infinitesimal given the likelihood of a Baltimore victory in the early game. That would free the Steelers to limit playing time for quarterback Russell Wilson and other starters inasmuch as finishing second in the division means a wild card playoff game on the road next weekend. Wilson threw for 414 yards in a 44-38 victory in Cincinnati on Dec. 1.

A Baltimore victory might make it a little easier for the Bengals, who have a puncher’s chance for the seventh and final AFC wild card berth. To advance, the Bengals must beat Pittsburgh and have both Denver and Miami lose Sunday. The Broncos are big home favorites over the Chiefs, who are expected to rest most of their big names. Miami plays at the New York Jets in he same afternoon time slot as the Kansas City-Denver game.

Burrow is having a spectacular season, one in what in many other years would earn him the MVP. He has thrown for a league-high 4,641 yards and 42 touchdowns while completing 69.8 percent of his passes. Bengals coach Zac Taylor knows what he has — Burrow also leads the league in passing attempts and completions.

Burrow has thrown for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns in the last eight games, an NFL record.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Minnesota Vikings (14-2) vs Detroit (14-2)

How to watch: NBC/Peacock, 8:20 pm

Key matchup: Sam Darnold vs Jared Goff

Early line: Lions -2 1/2

Sam Darnold is having a career year for teh playoff-bound Vikings. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

This game is historic even before it starts. It is the first between teams who have at least 13 victories apiece and a combined 28 victories, a stat that is tarnished slightly by the fact that this is only the fourth season that NFL teams have played 17 games.

Both Goff and Darnold have led offenses that get up and go. The Lions lead the league with 33.3 points per game and are second to Baltimore with 410.5 yards per. They have averaged 37.5 points in their last four games, although one was a 48-42 loss to Buffalo in which their injury-depleted defense gave up a season-high 559 yards.

Despite a five-interception game, Goff ranks second in the league in passer rating, sandwiched between No. 1 Jackson and Joe Burrow. The Lions’ offensive weapons are so multiple and varied that they have absorbed the loss of halfback David Montgomery well.

Jahmyr Gibbs streaked through the 49ers’ defense the last time out. (AP Photo/Scot Tucker)

Darnold is having the season of his life. The third player taken in 2018 draft by the New York Jets, Darnold stepped in when rookie starter J.J. McCarthy was injured in the preseason and has thrown for 4,153 yards, more than 1,000 more than in his best previous season.

Jake Bates’ 15-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining gave the Lions a 31-29 victory Oct. 20. Jahmyr Gibbs had 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns and Amon-Ra St. Brown had 112 yards and a touchdown for the Lions, Aaron Jones had 93 yards rushing, and he and Justin Jefferson had touchdowns.

Source link

Detroit, MI

Thompson: The new year brings a promising future for Detroit students

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Thompson: The new year brings a promising future for Detroit students

Detroit Public Schools Community District often gets a bad rap due to declining enrollment issues or longstanding challenges that led to the historic takeover of the school system before voters returned it to an elected board.

And in many cases, that is the lens through which the school system’s performance is examined and viewed across the state. But there are hidden stories of progress within a school system that is still struggling to define itself and to give young Detroiters hope for a meaningful future.

I saw that first-hand last week at Denby High School, part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, on the city’s east side, where hundreds of young Black and Brown male students gathered in the basketball gym for the annual policing and prosperity forum.

The annual event initiated and led by tenacious Detroiter Sharlonda Buckman, the district’s assistant superintendent for family and community engagement, is one of the hidden jewels of the public school system and brings together male students from various high schools to discuss their interaction with law enforcement. On the panel were senior and junior police officers from the Detroit Police Department, as well as the district’s public safety chief, Labrit Jackson, all of whom took hard questions from the students about how to navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system.

Before the start of the forum, I met three students: 17-year-old Justin Montgomery, 17-year-old Exavier Ward and 16-year-old Wesley Lewis, all students of Denby.

The three of them live on the east side and are serious and determined students who believe they have an obligation to be worthy ambassadors of their communities.

“I just got a scholarship from Cleary University for track and field and cross country and I just signed the papers so I can be committed,” Ward told me. “I am excited for the new year and I’m ready to live my adult life.”

His parents are also joyful about his future because, “out of all of my siblings, I’m going to be the first one to go to college. I want to major in cybersecurity,” he says.

Montgomery is scouting Oakland University or Central Michigan University and is also interested in a trades school. He’s keeping his options open.

“I have been here for a while and I’m ready to get out of high school. The experience has been good for me,” he says.

For Lewis, graduating in 2027 will make him the first in his family to be committed to college. That alone keeps him upbeat for the new year as he prepares for the challenges and the pressures of being an 11th grade student.

“I’m really ready to go to college. I’m looking at Kentucky State University, Wayne State University and Michigan State University,” he says. “I probably would major in music in college because I currently play the piano. But sometimes I get nervous about college because I feel like it is going to be harder than high school.”

These impressive young men speak to the vitality of the school system and the need to continue to nurture and support them.

The forum on policing and prosperity reinforces that need.

“This forum is so important because we give the students an opportunity to have a voice and talk about the things that are important to them and how they interact with law enforcement,” says Marty Bulger, the district’s senior director of male mentoring.

“Even a more dynamic piece is the fact that because the city has seen a reduction in violent crime, we believe as we reach our young people, we will continue to see a decline. These young men are our future leaders.”

X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews

bankole@bankolethompson.com

Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.

Source link

Detroit, MI

How are Lions fans feeling after Bears’ thrilling win vs. Packers?

Published

21 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

How are Lions fans feeling after Bears’ thrilling win vs. Packers?

The NFL showed on Saturday why they’re the best league in professional American sports. Both Wild Card games were phenomenal, and the dramatic finishes in each game were jaw-dropping. But let’s put aside the thrilling Rams vs. Panthers finish, because the nightcap was far more interesting to Detroit Lions fans.

The Chicago Bears somehow mounted yet another fourth-quarter comeback against the Green Bay Packers in what is already a defining moment in Ben Johnson’s career as the Bears head coach. I got a sense from most Lions fans that they were rooting against Johnson and the Bears for obvious reasons: It’s tough to watch your offensive coordinator go out there and win the division and beat the Packers in the playoffs in his first year.

But there was also a strong contingent of Lions fans out there after Saturday’s outstanding drama reminding people that the Packers remain enemy No. 1—a sentiment I happen to agree with.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

How are you feeling after the Bears’ wild win over the Packers?

My answer: I was definitely among the people rooting against the Bears on Saturday night. For me, it was less about Ben Johnson and more about the Bears being exposed as somewhat fraudulent. Their defense is bad and over-reliant on turnovers, and the last-second comebacks are completely unsustainable. In both of those senses, Saturday was a miserable failure for those narratives. I mean, this statistic is absolutely ridiculous:

And as much as I hate to do it, I have to give the Bears defense credit for changing up their gameplan out of the half, making Jordan Love look uncomfortable for the final two quarters, and holding Green Bay to just six second-half points without even forcing a turnover. As for the comebacks, they can’t keep getting away with it, right???

All of that said, I was still grinning ear-to-ear after the game. For one, I just love dramatic, entertaining football. I’ll take that result any day over the Packers beating the Bears 42-0.

Additionally, the Packers just had their hearts ripped out. One of the most pompous and smug franchises in all of sports now has to sit there and come to terms with blowing an 11-point lead in the final five minutes to their biggest rival. They have to marinate in a 1-4 record in their last five playoff games. And now they have to seriously consider whether their coach—once billed as one of the winningest coaches in NFL history—is the right guy to lead them into the future.

So I’m still brimming with schadenfreude this wonderful Sunday morning, and no amount of “did you write this article from Cancun?” comments will hurt me.

What are your thoughts on the game and the NFC North? Scroll down to the comment section and sound off!

Source link

Detroit, MI

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

MONTREAL — The atmosphere at Bell Centre never disappoints, especially when two Original Six rivals meet on a Saturday night.

The Detroit Red Wings tuned out the “Go Habs, Go,” chants and turned in a fine road performance, avenging an opening night loss and evening the season series. The Wings came away from their only visit of the season to the home of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, in the second of three meetings.

Alex DeBrincat added a goal to his night when he was left wide-open to rip Patrick Kane’s pass into Montreal’s net 34 seconds into the third period. Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.

The Habs, who schooled the Wings, 5-1, back in the season opener in October, were denied on 27 shots by John Gibson as he earned his third shutout since Dec. 8.

Red Wings playoff position

The two points earned lifted the Wings (27-15-4) into first place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games). Next up, the Wings host Metropolitan Division leader Carolina on Monday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), with the Hurricanes visiting on the night the Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91.

Rough stuff in Montreal

The Wings incurred some bumps along the way, especially Mason Appleton, who took one stick near the eye area and another – by teammate Elmer Söderblom – to the lips. At one point in the third period, Gibson had to check his helmet for damage after getting dinged by a puck.

But what a win.

The Wings came out with good pace, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth early on. The Habs shot wide on Gibson until more than five minutes in, when Ivan Demidov set up Oliver Kapanen just outside the crease. Kapanen’s shot slid into the paint, but Gibson was able to glove it before it crossed the goal line.

The Wings went on a power play seven minutes in, and the unit of Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond and DeBrincat had such control of the puck they were out the entire two minutes – but the Canadiens did a good job getting in lanes to block shots.

Another man advantage materialized around the midpoint when Brendan Gallagher high-sticked Appleton in the face, but again the Habs prevented the Wings from generating shots on net.

Putting it in the net

Ninety-one seconds into the second period, the Wings were back on a power play. Larkin forced a save from Jacob Fowler on a doorstep shot, but the game was back at even strength when they made it 1-0.

Jacob Bernard-Docker had the puck at his own goal line when he sent a pass to van Riemsdyk (who arrived at Bell Centre dressed as Batman, for his 4-year-old son) along the boards. By the time he got to the red line, van Riemsdyk had two defenders on him, so he dumped the puck deep. But instead of going around the net, as Fowler thought it would as he skated behind his net to play it, the puck bounced off the end boards and out front, where Raymond turned it into his third straight five-on-five goal in the last three games.

The Wings built on their momentum just past the midpoint of the game when they converted during their fourth power play. Seider had the point up top and found DeBrincat along the left boards. DeBrincat made a short pass to Larkin, who took advantage of van Riemsdyk getting in Fowler’s line of vision to one-time a shot that gave the Wings a 2-0 lead.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

Source link