Jake Bates made a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left and the Detroit Lions defeated Minnesota 31-29 on Sunday, handing the Vikings their first loss in a back-and-forth game befitting the strongest division in the N.F.L.
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards and two of Detroit’s three touchdowns in the second quarter. He also helped Jared Goff guide the Lions 48 yards in four plays to get into range for their rookie kicker while forcing the Vikings to burn their timeouts. Bates is 10 for 10 on field goals this season.
Goff went 22 for 25 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers in his third straight game with a 140+ passer rating, joining Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Gibbs totaled 150 yards to lead an impressive performance by the Lions (5-1) at the line of scrimmage against a defense that entered the week with a rushing average per game (3.6), which was second-best made in the competition.
Ivan Pace Jr. returned David Montgomery’s fumble 35 yards for a touchdown with 5:50 left to give the Vikings (5-1) a one-point lead after trailing 21-10 at halftime, but Sam Darnold’s crucial 2-point conversion passed sailed past Justin Jefferson.
The Vikings approached midfield on their final possession, but they were too far away for their own perfect rookie Will Reichard to attempt a field goal. Darnold was fired to end the game and give the Lions their fourth straight victory over the Vikings, their longest streak in the series since 1961–63.
Aaron Jones rushed for 93 yards and a TD for Minnesota despite being listed as doubtful due to a hamstring injury. Jefferson had 81 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Reichard made three field goals, including a 57-yarder.
Darnold went 22 for 27 for 259 yards, but he botched a promising drive in the second quarter when the Vikings needed to regain some rhythm by ignoring a wide-open Jones in the flat of a play-action fake and forcing a throw to Jordan Addison . that was intercepted by a diving Brian Branch.
The Lions played a second quarter for the ages. They had three scoring drives that all covered at least 69 yards thanks to some smart play-calling from offensive coordinator Ben Johnson that made Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ check moves moot as Goff beat blitz after blitz.
Injury report
Lions: RB Montgomery (knee) limped off in the first quarter but returned before halftime. RG Kevin Zeitler (groin) was inactive and his backup Kayode Awosika was flagged twice for holding and once for a false start in the first quarter. One holding call was rejected by the Vikings for sacking Goff on the play.
Vikings: LB Blake Cashman (toe) was inactive.
Next
The Lions host the Tennessee Titans next Sunday afternoon.
Check out a full recap of the game below.
