Earlier this week, Dan Campbell made it clear: the Detroit Lions would play their starters against the Minnesota Vikings in NFL Week 18. The Lions had clinched the division title and a playoff berth two weeks prior against the same Vikings, but in spite of a loss to the Cowboys a week prior, the Lions entered Sunday with a slim chance to take the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff order, a chance that doesn’t manifest unless the Lions defeated the Vikings.
This was always the plan, to play starters. However, as the game wore on, the Lions suffered two significant injuries to their offense: tight end Sam LaPorta and Kalif Raymond.