Vikings took extreme measures to take away from Lions' home field advantage in Week 18

The biggest game of the season is always flexed into the "Sunday Night Football." This season, it is a huge matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. The Lions are viewed as the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year, while the Vikings shocked the world, with Sam Darnold emerging as a top quarterback in the league. But there are huge stakes in this matchup.

Whoever wins between the Lions and Vikings not only win the NFC North title, but also secure the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It's as big a game as you could have hoped for the final game of the regular season.

With the Lions hosting the game, they will have the advantage of having the fans try and rattle the Vikings. But, the Vikings took some unusual measures to try and eliminate some of Detroit's home field advantage.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Vikings organization purchased 1,900 tickets on the secondary market for about $1,000 each, for a total of $2 million. The Vikings then emailed season ticket holders with an offer to purchase tickets for about $200 each.

Vikings purchased tickets on secondary market to cut into Lions' home field advantage

The Lions caught wind of this plan and notified the league office, looking for them to step in. Yet, per Breer, the NFL told the Lions that the Vikings "didn’t break any rules in the process of pulling this off."

So, where are the tickets purchased located at Ford Field? Why, right behind the Vikings bench, per Breer! So with that, there would be less noise and allow the Vikings team to communicate clearly. But the Vikings had intended to do this to give season ticket holders, Vikings staff, and families a better experience instead of seats in the upper level.

The Vikings claim that they did this to give a better experience for their fans and members of the organization, the Lions had a problem with it, considering they reached out to the NFL.

The Lions have been hammered by injuries this season, particularly on defense, but they are still finding ways to win games, but one has to wonder how they would play if they were at full health.

As for the Vikings, they have played better than anyone would have expected entering the year. Darnold has the chance to cash in in free agency, if the Vikings don't opt to keep him. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Connell has to be the Coach of the Year favorite considering his work with Darnold and the team going 14-2 this season.

There's so much to play for on Sunday night. The winner will earn the division title and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The loser, meanwhile, will earn the No. 5 seed and will face off against either the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams, or the winner of the NFC South between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.