After topping 49ers, Lions face short week in hosting Vikings in key game to close regular season

The Detroit Lions have a short week to prepare for a pivotal matchup against Minnesota, and they will not complain about that fact.

The winner will earn the NFC North title and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The loser will start the playoffs on the road as a fifth-seeded wild card.

“You couldn’t write a better scenario,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said after a 40-34 win at San Francisco on Monday night. “You couldn’t come up with this. The fact that both teams are sitting at 14-2, and it’s for the division and the top seed, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”

The Lions arrived in the Motor City at about 7 a.m. on Tuesday and had a day of rest before getting ready for a marquee matchup on Sunday night at home against the Vikings.

“These are the types of games you dream of when you are growing up," All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell said. “These are the moments that you live for. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

The Jared Goff-led offense.

“He’s playing at an ultimate level right now,” Campbell said. “You find me a quarterback that’s playing better than him in this league right now.”

Goff completed 77% of his passes against his hometown 49ers and set a franchise record by throwing three touchdown passes for the fourth game in a row.

He has connected on at least three-fourths of his passes for the eighth time this season, joining Tom Brady (2007) as the two players in league history to pull off the feat.

Detroit's defense. The banged-up unit has allowed 31 points or more in three of the past four games, setting up high-scoring matchups.

Kerby Joseph. After going five games without an interception, the safety picked off two passes against the 49ers to give him an NFL-high nine interceptions.

“He came up in a big way, not just that the picks,” Campbell said. “He had some critical tackles and just really showed up for us.”

Joseph is the first Detroit player with nine interceptions, including a pick-6, since Hall of Famer Lem Barney did it in 1967.

Za'Darius Smith. The veteran defensive end, acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline, played on 52% of Detroit's defensive snaps and was the only player on the unit to not have a tackle at San Francisco. Smith has been held without a sack for three straight games after he had a total of 2 1/2 sacks in consecutive games against Green Bay and Chicago.

Sewell went to the locker room at the end of the first half to have a thumb injury evaluated in San Francisco.

“Should be good,” Campbell said.

4 — David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs along with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are the first pair of running backs and receivers in league history to have each player gain 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

“We’ve got a good group and a very unselfish group, which is the best part of it,” Goff said. “Those guys want to see each other succeed.”

Rest and recover after playing on Monday night and flying across the country to prepare for perhaps the biggest game in the regular season in team history.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs past Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) after a catch during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell yells from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) scores a rushing touchdown past San Francisco 49ers cornerback Renardo Green (0) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) walks off the field after a win over the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis appeared to remonstrate on the field with manager Nuno Espirito Santo after the team's Champions League hopes were hit by a 2-2 draw against Leicester on Sunday.

Marinakis approached Espirito Santo after the final whistle at the City Ground and looked heated, gesturing with his hands during the exchange.

“It is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He pushes us. He wants us to be better,” Espirito Santo said afterward. “It is his passion and desire to be a big club. 30,000 people felt the same today. For sure, many of them would go on the pitch and shake us down.”

Forest has been an unlikely contender for a place in next season's Champions League, having battled against relegation last term.

But Marinakis looked displeased after the draw against Midlands rival Leicester, which has already been relegated.

Espirito Santo appeared to say only a few words in response and the pair walked away in different directions after the brief exchange. But Marinakis still looked frustrated as he headed down the tunnel.

Espirito Santo said Marinakis had been frustrated because of a miscommunication between the bench and medical staff after an injury to striker Taiwo Awoniyi late on. Marinakis later confirmed this and the Greek businessman said he was “proud” of Espirito Santo.

Marinakis relinquished his position as a person with significant control of Forest in recent weeks as the club closed in on unlikely Champions League qualification.

UEFA has rules to bar clubs from its competitions in any season if owners have “decisive influence” over two clubs which qualify. Marinakis is also president of Olympiacos, which has qualified as Greek champion.

With two rounds of the season to go, Forest is seventh — one point behind fifth-placed Chelsea.

The top five teams in the division will qualify for the Champions League.

Conor Coady fired Leicester ahead in the 16th minute, but goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood put Forest in control.

That was until Facundo Buonanotte's equalizer in the 81st.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Olympiacos club owner Evangelos Marinakis walks on the pitch at the end of the Europa Conference League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Aston Villa and Olympiacos at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, file)

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, left, and Leicester City's Jeremy Monga hug after a Premier League soccer match at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, Sunday May 11, 2025. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi, left, and Leicester City's Facundo Buonanotte collide with the goal post during a Premier League soccer match at City Ground in Nottingham, England, Sunday May 11, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP)