Photos by Aaron J. Thornton
All the hype heading into the Detroit-Minnesota Nov. 1 divisional matchup centered on the Lions’ No. 2-ranked offense versus the Vikings No. 1-ranked defense.
But it was the Lions defense that stood tall, helping the Lions earn a 19-15 win over a previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings squad. With the win, the Lions move to 5-2 on the season and undefeated in divisional play, while the Vikes fall to 6-1 on the season.
The Lions were led by their usual suspects: quarterback Jared Goff, who went 18-for-25 with 176 yards and one touchdown; Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 153 rushing yards with a touchdown; and Jameson Williams, who had four catches for 70 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
The game started slow for both teams, who struggled to find offensive rhythm in the opening half.
Goff and Williams connected on a 46-yard pass on third-and-12 that took the ball down to Minnesota’s nine yardline. Williams immediately got up after being tackled and was flagged for taunting on his catch celebration.
It was the second taunting flag on the Lions of the drive, as Amon-Ra St. Brown received a similar penalty on his first catch a few plays earlier in the game.
The next play, from the Vikings’ 24 yardline, Goff connected in the endzone with St. Brown, but the touchdown was called back because St. Brown didn’t maintain the catch through the fall. The Lions managed to get a first down and got as close as the four yardline, but they couldn’t punch it in and were forced to settle for a
Justin Jefferson scored the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard reception from Kyler Murray, capping off a seven-play, 74-yard drive that spilled over into the first minute of the second quarter. It gave the Vikes a 7-3 lead.
On the ensuing drive, Goff threw his first interception of the season as Williams slipped when he broke to the corner on an intermediate route toward the sideline. Williams’ fall allowed defensive back James Pierre to make a play on the ball.
The Lions’ next opportunity to score came after a cornerback D.J. Reed intercepted a pass from Murray. Detroit managed to add three points just before halftime on a Jake Bates 37-yard field goal to make it 7-6 at intermission.
The Lions missed a long field goal on their first possession of the second half, and Minnesota punted on their following possession, but the Lions scored first in the second half with a six-play, 72-yard drive, capped off by a 30-yard touchdown run by Gibbs. With the score, he became just the second player in franchise history to record 10 or more touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. Barry Sanders is the only other Lion to accomplish that feat.
The score put the Lions up 12-7 after a failed two-point conversion, but the Vikes saw Murray connect with Jordan Addison for a 51-yard strike that took the Vikings to the Lions 10 yardline. Two players later, former Lion T.J. Hockenson caught an eight-yard touchdown from Murray in the back of the end zone and they converted a two-point conversion to take the lead, 15-12.
The Lions, with just under nine minutes left in the game, tapped into their two-headed running game, as Gibbs and Sione Vaki carried the Lions downfield run after run. They punched the ball down to the Vikings’ seven yard line, where Goff connected with Williams for the game-winning touchdown with just over three minutes left. It gave the Lions a 19-15 lead.
Detroit’s defense, the unsung heroes of the game, stood tall to force a Vikings punt, and the running game of Detroit was able to pick up two first downs to close out the game.
The Lions suffered a litany of injuries throughout the game, but perhaps none greater than that suffered by linebacker Jack Campbell. Campbell was down on the field for more than 10 minutes before having his head, neck and lower body secured to a medical board and being carted off the field. The team later announced that he was being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. No other update was given.
The Lions are next in action against the Miami Dolphins on the road on Sunday, Nov. 8.