Vikings vs Lions NFL Week 18 SNF picks

It’s Week 18; the final week of the NFL season and in the 272nd and final regular season game, the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions will square off at Ford Field to determine the top seed in the NFC. The visiting Vikings are 14-2 and only sit at the fifth seed in the NFC because the host Lions at 14-2 are the NFC’s top seed right now. This game will determine the NFC’s home-field advantage for the rest of the playoffs and it’s very fitting that the final game of the regular season has so much on the line. It should be an awesome game and with that, let’s dive into our Lions vs 49ers MNF picks and best bets.

Vikings vs Lions Predictions

Pick #1: Detroit Lions -2.5 over Minnesota Vikings (-120)

Pick #2: Over 56.5 (-110)

Pick #3: Jameson Williams Over 57.5 Receiving Yards (-115)

Pick #1: Lions -2.5 over Vikings (-120)

We’ll begin our Vikings vs Lions SNF picks by taking the Lions as a narrow 2.5-point favorite at home. In a matchup between the Vikings and Lions, whose 28 combined wins are the most in NFL history for a regular-season matchup, it’s exceptionally difficult to separate these two teams. Both teams have elite weapons on offense, from Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and quarterback Jared Goff, to Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold, on his fourth NFL team and left for dead by the previous three teams he played for, had to step in for the entire 2024 season following rookie first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending injury in the preseason. All Darnold has done is throw for 35 touchdowns and 4,100 yards. Meanwhile, Goff, who was the “other” quarterback in the deal that sent Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles and won them a Super Bowl, has thrown 36 touchdowns of his own and is a 300-yard game away from setting a career-high in passing yards.

It’s the most unlikely of quarterback duels and both teams matchup incredibly well on paper, but the home team Lions have just a bit more experience in big games than Darnold and the Vikings do, so we’ll take the Lions to get by the Vikings on SNF by at least a field goal. 

Pick #2: Over 56.5 (-110)

The next pick in our Vikings vs Lions SNF predictions is taking the Over, set at an astronomically high 56.5 points. It makes sense that two of the top eight teams in the NFL in EPA per pass play will meet up in a game to determine the NFC’s top seed. Both the Vikings (eighth in EPA per pass play) and the Lions (second in EPA per pass play) have been buoyed by their offenses this season. While both teams are also top-four in EPA per play on the defensive side of the ball, the Lions have been decimated by injuries on that side of the ball.

The Lions have won three of their last four games but they’ve given up at least 30 points in three of those, including 40 points in their loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Vikings have squeaked by in their last two wins to the Seahawks and Packers to cap their eighth and ninth straight win. With both offenses running strong, it’s likely this game will go over 56.5 points.

Pick #3: Jameson Williams Over 57.5 Receiving Yards (-115)

Our Vikings vs Lions best bet for Sunday Night Football is on Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams. Last week, Williams had an awesome game with 77 receiving yards and two touchdowns and that makes two straight games and five of the last seven games that Williams has eclipsed 57 receiving yards.

With the offensive firepower the Lions have between Gibbs, St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Tim Patrick and a host of others, Jameson Williams is one people often forget about. However, he has touchdowns in three straight games and is turning into one of the best weapons in the NFL. Because of the potential for both offenses to go off and Williams’ massive involvement in the team’s offense as of late, it makes a ton of sense to take the wideout to have a productive performance on Sunday Night Football.