Lions visit eliminated Vikings on Christmas with their chance of returning to the playoffs dwindling

Detroit (8-7) at Minnesota (7-8)

Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EST, Netflix.

BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 6.

Against the spread: Lions 7-8; Vikings 7-8.

Series record: Minnesota leads 81-45-2.

Last meeting: Vikings beat Lions 27-24 on Nov. 2 in Detroit.

Last week: Lions lost to Steelers 29-24; Vikings beat Giants 16-13.

Lions offense: overall (3), rush (12), pass (3), scoring (2).

Lions defense: overall (23), rush (16), pass (25), scoring (23).

Vikings offense: overall (28), rush (25), pass (28), scoring (26).

Vikings defense: overall (5), rush (24), pass (3), scoring (11).

Turnover differential: Lions plus-10; Vikings minus-14.

WR Jameson Williams. The Lions are leaning more on the 2022 first-round pick, who was taken 12th overall with the spot the Vikings traded out of in a draft-night swap with their division rival. Williams had five catches for 70 yards against Pittsburgh after averaging seven receptions and 125 yards over the previous three games.

QB Max Brosmer. The undrafted rookie will get his second start, with J.J. McCarthy sidelined by a hairline fracture in his throwing hand. When McCarthy missed the game at Seattle on Nov. 30 because of a concussion, Brosmer was overwhelmed by a dominant defense while throwing four interceptions in a 26-0 loss.

Detroit's running game against Minnesota's defense. The dominant offensive line that fueled the 15-win Lions last season has regressed, with two starters from 2024 gone and multiple injuries weakening the front in 2025. The ground game has suffered as a result, with just 15 yards rushing last week for the team's lowest total since 2016. The Lions are 0-6 this season when they finish below 100 yards rushing, including a 65-yard total against the Vikings at home on Nov. 2.

Lions: DB Avonte Maddox (back) didn't practice on Monday or Tuesday after getting hurt against Pittsburgh, another potential hit to a banged-up secondary that has starters Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph on injured reserve. ... DE Marcus Davenport (shoulder) has been limited in practice this week. The 2018 first-round draft pick by the Saints has been limited to six games this season after playing in two in 2024 for the Lions and four with the Vikings in 2023. ... WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) didn't practice on Monday and was limited on Tuesday.

Vikings: McCarthy (hand) joins C Ryan Kelly (concussion) on the sideline. ... TE T.J. Hockenson (shoulder) didn't practice on Monday or Tuesday. ... RB Jordan Mason (ankle) left the game last week on the opening drive and was unable to practice on Monday or Tuesday. ... DT Javon Hargrave (thigh) missed the game last week but practiced this week on a limited basis. ... Three other starters, LT Christian Darrisaw (knee), OLB Jonathan Greenard (shoulder) and S Josh Metellus (shoulder), were shut down for the season last week.

The Vikings ended a five-game losing streak to the Lions in Week 9. In the last meeting, McCarthy returned from a five-game absence because of a sprained ankle and threw two touchdown passes, ran for a score and sealed the victory by throwing a 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on third-and-5 from the Minnesota 28. Jared Goff was sacked a season-high five times for the Lions, and Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 25 yards rushing on nine carries and 3 yards on three receptions. ... The Lions are 4-5 at U.S. Bank Stadium. With a win, they would match the Bears for the most wins by any opponent at the stadium that Minnesota opened in 2016.

To return to the playoffs, the Lions need to win at Minnesota and at Chicago in Week 18 and have Green Bay lose at home against Baltimore this week and at Minnesota in Week 18. Their playoff qualification probability is 7%, according to the NFL. ... The Lions have lost two straight games for the first time since early in the 2022 season when they dropped five in a row to fall to 1-6 in coach Dan Campbell's second year. They have not won two games in a row in more than two months and can no longer win the division they won the last two years. ... Gibbs has the most touchdowns (48) scored in NFL history through a player's first three seasons. ... St. Brown had just four catches on nine targets for 54 yards last week. His pass interference penalty on the final play against Pittsburgh negated Goff’s go-ahead touchdown run off St. Brown's lateral to prevent being tackled short of the goal line. Three plays earlier, pass interference on rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa erased St. Brown's touchdown catch that would've given the Lions the lead. ... Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson had two sacks last week, matching his career high with 11 1/2 sacks. ... The Vikings were eliminated from contention for the playoffs two weeks ago after winning 14 games last season. They have not made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2008-09. ... Vikings RB Aaron Jones had 21 carries for 85 yards last week, both season highs. ... Vikings WR Justin Jefferson needs 27 yards to pass Randy Moss (8,375) for the most receiving yards in NFL history over a player's first six seasons. Jefferson's last touchdown catch came against the Lions in Week 9. ... Vikings LB Blake Cashman has logged 10-plus tackles in eight of the 11 games he's played in, tied for the second most in the league. ... The Vikings have allowed 2.12 yards per play in the red zone, the second-best rate inside the 20-yard line this season in the NFL. ... The Vikings have held opponents under 200 net passing yards in 11 of 15 games and under 100 in three of their last four games.

Goff has a touchdown pass in 21 straight games, tying Matthew Stafford’s franchise record. He has three consecutive 300-yard passing performances and four straight games without a turnover, with a career-low six giveaways this season. He'll face a Vikings defense that has not allowed a passing touchdown in six straight games, tying the Patriots (2018-19) for the longest streak in the league over the last 25 years.

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

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Detroit Lions' Jameson Williams (1) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers' Patrick Queen (6) and Jalen Ramsey (5) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) passes against the New York Giants during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations.

Zelenskyy said the U.S. proposed the creation of a “free economic zone," which he said should be demilitarized. But it was unclear what that idea would mean for governance or development of the region.

A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said. He said any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum.

Zelenskyy spoke to reporters Tuesday to describe an overarching 20-point plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the U.S. hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said many details are still being discussed.

Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would decide its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details.

American negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since U.S. President Donald Trump presented a plan to end the war last month — a proposal widely seen as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to pull the plan closer to Kyiv's position.

Zelenskyy said figuring out control of the Donbas region is “the most difficult point.”

Meanwhile, on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the U.S. has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake.

Zelenskyy countered with a proposal for a joint venture between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia.

Zelenskyy acknowledged that the U.S. has not yet accepted Ukraine's counter-proposals.

“But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together," Zelenskyy said. "In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”

Creating the demilitarized economic zone in the Donbas would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and where international forces would be stationed, Zelenskyy said, adding that it should discussed at the leaders level.

The working U.S.-Ukraine draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Zelenskyy envisions that international forces could be located along certain points of the contact line within the zone to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

Ukraine also proposes that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, become a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelenskyy said.

This point required 15 hours of discussions with the U.S., he said, and no agreement was reached.

For now, the U.S. proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side controlling a 33% stake in the enterprise — a plan Zelenskyy called “not entirely realistic."

"How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” he asked.

Ukraine instead suggested that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the U.S. in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute the energy from their 50% share.

Zelenskyy said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.

The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees that would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would mirror NATO’s Article 5, which says an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.

Zelenskyy said a separate document with the U.S. will outline these guarantees. It will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of another Russian assault, and it will establish a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed with the main agreement to end the war, Zelenskyy said.

“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.

The draft contains other elements, including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peacetime and making Ukraine a member of the European Union by a specific date. Limiting the size of Ukraine’s military is a key Russian demand.

The document also proposes accelerating a free-trade agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. The U.S. wants the same deal with Russia, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to solicit outside investment in Ukraine's industries.

Other points include raising funds for Ukraine's reconstruction, with the goal of attracting $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private-sector contributions.

The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. Zelenskyy’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were put off due to Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners taken since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine.

In other developments, an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away.

An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as GUR, told The Associated Press that the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. Another official from the agency said the police officers had taken part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, without providing details. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Associated Press writer Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

An elderly man looks out of his broken window as an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

An injured elderly woman looks out of her broken window as an apartment building was hit by a Russian drone during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a media conference during the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Police Press Service shows an apartment damaged by Russian drone during air attack in Chernyhiv, Ukraine, on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Ukrainian Police Press Service via AP)

Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, a residential house is seen damaged after a Russian strike in Zhytomyr region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a car destroyed a Russian strike in Chernihiv region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Municipal workers clean debris on the roof after a Russian drone hit an apartment building during an aerial attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)