Lions postgame report after loss to Vikings (Week 17, 2025)
We got the Honolulu Blue flu
A month after puking up my Thanksgiving turkey when the Lions were swept by the Packers, I puked up my Christmas ham after getting swept by the Vikings.
I’m not sure what’s worse - giving up 480 passing yards and 6 TD’s to someone named Matt Flynn or giving up 3 net passing yards to someone named Max Brosmer and still getting dominated. Either scenario is known to lead to extreme nausea and projectile vomiting.
Add me to the list of all the Lions (Montgomery, Dorsey, Maddox, Decker) who fell ill over the course of the week. It’s a re-emergence of the Honolulu Blue flu… except the variant this year has turned around and come for the Lions and their fans.
It’s mutated.
Which way? Better or worse?
-Contagion
Hopefully, you all had an otherwise merry Christmas and are feeling better by New Years.
Here are the injuries I noted during the Vikings game:
Alim McNeill (2q) officially reported with abdomen
McNeill had an abdomen issue coming out of the previous game 4 days ago. He presumably aggravated it early and sat out the rest of the game.
I did see him standing comfortably on the sideline in the 2nd half which is reassuring. An abdomen can be a lot of things, but a benign oblique strain would be a common cause. He is a strong candidate to sit out the finale.
Penei Sewell (2q 5:17) left ankle sprain
Sewell was rolled up on resulting in an external rotation of the ankle which can cause a high ankle or medial ankle sprain. He was out for a short time but returned to the game with his left ankle spatted. Getting rolled up on could have caused a mild left knee injury as well.
Recall back to November 9 vs the Commanders when Sewell was also rolled up on that left leg with a suspected left MCL and left ankle sprain.
It’s been 1.5 months, but it’s possible he aggravated this prior injury. Sewell is another candidate to sit out the finale. It could be a good opportunity to activate Gio Manu and see what he can do at RT (as long as Goff is safely on the bench).
Isaac TeSlaa (2q 1:05) back/head
TeSlaa makes (another) fantastic TD catch and lands hard on his back. His head also appears to hit the turf. While he was down for a bit, there were no obvious concussion signs.
He presumably passed a concussion evaluation, returned to the game, and looked fine. No concerns going forward.
Thomas Harper (1st half) concussion
Harper was confirmed to have a concussion this game. He also had a concussion on December 4 for which he didn’t return to play until Day 17 post. This means he’s almost certainly out for the finale which is in 10 days.
If any of you are interested in playing safety for the Lions, please grab some cleats and go to Allen Park now.
Alex Anzalone (3q 5:26) concussion
Anzalone takes a thigh to the head while making a tackle. While there were no immediate concussion signs on video, he left the game and was diagnosed with a concussion. He’s likely to miss the season finale.
In 2024, Anzalone had a concussion in Week 2 for which he missed 1 game and returned-to-play in 15 days.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (4q 00:38) right knee
Saint was hit in the back and landed awkwardly on his flexed right knee. The steps prior to the landing did not appear concerning for a non-contact knee injury (ACL), so he was almost certainly hurt on the landing.
There didn’t appear to be any significant deformity to the knee, so hopefully that means good news. An injury to the patella or lateral side of knee are possible as is cartilage damage.
Remember that he was listed with a knee all week for unknown reasons. It seems likely that he aggravated a pre-existing knee issue on this play.
Last season, he had a minor injury to his right knee area in Week 12 for which he missed no time. However, he ended up having a knee scope (unknown side) in the offseason which is often done to clean up minor cartilage damage. The mechanism of injury back then was similar to what we saw this week.
Even if the current knee issue is benign, I’d like to see him sit out the finale to make sure there are no further aggravations to his knees.
Tidbits
David Montgomery and Khalil Dorsey played despite a recent illness. Taylor Decker was a last minute scratch due to an illness.
Kingsley Eguakun got the start at center in place of Graham Glasgow - possibly part injury, part performance. It ended up being a disaster in the 1st quarter with Eguakun picking up a (questionable) false start, and then later snapping the ball way too early leading to a fumble. Later in the game, another questionable snap led to another fumble.