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In a special Christmas afternoon game, the Minnesota Vikings host the division rival Detroit Lions.

Minnesota has won three games in a row to improve its record to 7-8. The Vikings had previously lost six out of seven to drop from 3-2 to 4-8, so it's been quite the turnaround. Those three games all came against the NFC East, though, and the competition will be tougher here.

Detroit has lost two in a row and three of its last four as it has been trying to stay in the thick of the playoff race. The Lions are coming off a wild loss to the Steelers wherein they scored two potential game-winning touchdowns on their final drive, only to have both negated by penalty. They need to come away with a win here in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Will the Lions keep their playoff hopes alive, or will the Vikings put a fork on their division rivals? We'll find out soon enough. But before we detail at some key storylines, here's a look at how you can watch the game.

Where to watch Vikings vs. Lions

  • Date: Thursday, Dec. 25 | Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis)
  • Stream: Netflix
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Odds: Lions -7.5, O/U 43.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook

Key Storylines

  • Lions' playoff chances. Detroit's postseason hopes are on life support. Detroit is sitting in eighth place in the NFC, 1.5 games back of the seventh-place Packers. The Lions need to win both of their remaining games, and have the Packers lose both of their remaining games. The Vikings will play a big role in that effort, because they play the Lions and Packers in their last two games of the year. So, Detroit has to beat Minnesota and then root as hard as possible for Minnesota next week. 
  • Max Brosmer's second chance? In Brosmer's first start, he went 19 of 30 for 126 yards and four interceptions, one of which was a pick six. That game, though, was against the hellacious Seattle Seahawks defense. This Detroit defense is, to put it kindly, not that Seahawks defense. He should have a better chance to get going here. Maybe his 7 of 9 for 52 yards performance in relief of J.J. McCarthy last weekend will foreshadow a better effort in what could be his second career start.
  • Injuries all over the place. The Lions have Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, Terrion Arnold, Levi Onwuzurike, Brock Wright and more on injured reserve. Basically their entire offensive line is banged up and they have been playing a M.A.S.H. unit up front. The Vikings have Jonathan Greenard, Josh Metellus and Christian Darrisaw on IR, while players like McCarthy, T.J. Hockenson, Ryan Kelly, Jordan Mason and more are likely out for this game after they didn't practice on either Monday or Tuesday. That's a lot of important players on both sides of the ball who are unlikely to play.

Lions vs. Vikings prediction, pick

Brosmer is going to start this game for Minnesota. Given what we've seen from him in his short time in the league, that is not at all encouraging for Minnesota's chances. Even against a depleted Lions defense, I don't expect him to have much success. The Lions, meanwhile, absolutely need to put together their best performance of the season here in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. After the way the first game between these two teams went, I expect them to bounce back and put up some points, with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams putting on a show.

Pick: Lions 27, Vikings 10 | (Detroit -7.5, Under 43.5)