The Detroit Lions will host the Minnesota Vikings on "Sunday Night Football" in the regular season finale, and there's no doubt this is the game of the week. The winner of this NFC North showdown will not only clinch the division, but also the No. 1 seed in the NFC as well.
The Lions have a whopping 18 players on injured reserve, but they could return a defensive starter Sunday. According to ESPN, linebacker Alex Anzalone has a "realistic chance" to play vs. the Vikings after missing the last six games due to a broken forearm suffered in Week 11. He was a limited participant in practice Wednesday.
Anzalone was the Lions' second-leading tackler when he was injured in the victory vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 17. In nine games played, he recorded 56 combined tackles, one sack, four passes defensed and four QB hits. The 30-year-old had a career year with Detroit in 2023, notching 129 combined tackles, three sacks and six passes defensed to go along with 12 QB hits.
With all of the injuries the Lions have suffered at all three levels on defense, this unit has struggled recently. Detroit allowed 7.4 yards per play in the month of December. It's the most yards per play any team has allowed in December in the Super Bowl era. That was on full display during the Monday night victory against the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions won the game, 40-34, but the defense allowed 475 yards of total offense, five touchdowns and forced zero punts.
Improvement on the defensive side of the ball is critical for a Lions' Super Bowl run, and the return of Anzalone helps with that.
