[ad_1]
ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions will host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in a showdown of the top two teams in the NFC North. The Vikings (10-2) can clinch the division with a win, while the Lions (5-7) need a win to stay in the playoff hunt.
It’s the biggest December game in half a decade for Detroit, and Ford Field is expected to be beyond capacity. The Lions announced Friday that they will release standing-room tickets for the game, just as they did two weeks ago for the Thanksgiving game against the Buffalo Bills.
“Our fans have to show up, which I know they will,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “It’s going to be electric. It’s big. It’s big for our players, big for us, shoot, big game for them.”
Attendance is up from last season, when the Lions averaged the fewest fans per game in the league (51,522). They averaged 62,609 fans per game this year, which ranks 29th in the league, given the relatively small size of Ford Field. The stadium is at 97.1% capacity this season, which is 19th.
It’s especially strong on Thanksgiving, when the Bills struggle to run plays and get organized.
The Lions are looking for more of that when they put their season on the line Sunday against Minnesota.
“I think the fans are going to be awesome,” said receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. “I think Detroit has some of the best fans around. They bring a lot of energy every week for us, it helps us a lot. Just in terms of the other team, I think a divisional team will be more competitive, but we’ve done a good job of not having some penalties, unsportsmanlike conduct and whatnot. We’ve done well this year. I don’t think we’ll be affected too much.”
[ad_2]
Source link
