Graham Glasgow played a handful of snaps on special teams, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated the veteran offensive lineman wasn’t ready for his usual workload at center Thursday, Dec. 25, against the Minnesota Vikings because of a knee injury.
Kingsley Eguakun made his second straight start in Glasgow’s place and had two bad snaps that led to fumbles as part of the Lions’ ugly six-turnover day.
The Lions lost, 23-10, and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff hugs center Kingsley Eguakun before a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
“Graham was good enough to help us as a reserve,” Campbell said. “He’s got that knee, so we were fortunate to even have him as a reserve, so gave Kingsley in there a go.”
Eguakun, an undrafted rookie out of Florida who signed with the Lions last spring and has spent most of this season on practice squad, played well in his first career start last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Thursday, facing a Vikings defense that specializes in pressure and has one of the most hard-to-decipher blitz games in the NFL, he had a much tougher go.
Eguakun snapped one ball prematurely as Goff walked up behind him to go under center on a third-and-1 play. The ball squirted loose, the Vikings recovered the fumble at the Lions’ 16-yard line and scored the game’s first touchdown five plays later.
Eguakun also allowed one sack, had a disputed false start penalty that forced the Lions to punt on fourth down and sent a second snap just wide of Goff in the shotgun formation.
The Vikings also recovered that fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Dan the man
Glasgow wasn’t the only starter out on the Lions offensive line Thursday. Left tackle Taylor Decker also was inactive for the game after he caught an illness that’s sickened several of his teammates.
Dan Skipper said he learned he would be starting in Decker’s place around 9:30-10 a.m., when he started receiving text messages from Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley and members of the medical staff.
“I’m eating breakfast, kind of sitting down, getting a quick nap and phone starts going nuts, I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’” Skipper said.
Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions fumbles the ball against Dallas Turner and Andrew van Ginkel of the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025.
Skipper made one start in Decker’s place earlier this season and has been a fixture at swing tackle for most of the past three years, but he said Decker’s surprise absence was “a pretty big curveball” for him and the Lions’ offense.
“It’s not the worst situation, but it definitely is a pretty big curveball and that’s part of being in my role is you got to be ready for that type of stuff,” Skipper said. “It is what it is and I try to go out there and give it everything I got and fight my (expletive) off.”
Skipper, who was initially slated to play as the Lions’ sixth lineman, said he immediately started hydrating so he wouldn’t cramp up during the game and he re-focused his pregame study on rush plans and rush tendencies rather than the Lions’ jumbo package.
The Lions used tight ends Shane Zylstra, Anthony Firkser and Giovanni Ricci as extra blockers and struggled to run the ball most of the game. Guard Kayode Awosika served as the Lions’ emergency tackle and played a few snaps at right tackle in the first half when Penei Sewell briefly left with an ankle injury.
“We’ve lost a lot of players and always been able to next-man-up, bounce back, find ways to win and we felt good about Skip going in there and battling,” Campbell said. “Here’s what I know about Skip: He’s going to give us everything he’s got and he’s going to battle and he’s going to finish. So, I trust Skip.”
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