HomeSportsLions secure NFC's No. 1 seed as huge showdown with Vikings ends...

Lions secure NFC’s No. 1 seed as huge showdown with Vikings ends in defeat

At least the Minnesota Vikings will make some history next week. They will be the first 14-win wild card playoff team in NFL history.

There may be complaints that the NFL overemphasizes its divisions, leading to quirks such as the home team having four fewer wins than its road opponent in the wild-card round. But the Vikings knew the stakes for Sunday night’s historic game against the Detroit Lions. The winner is 15-2 and gets the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The other breaks the Tennessee Titans’ 1999 record of 13 wins for a wild-card team and falls to the fifth seed.

And knowing what was at stake, the Vikings came up small. Sam Darnold had a bad game, perhaps his worst of the season. There were questionable coaching decisions and some big mistakes on special teams. In the end, the Lions pulled away while not even playing their best and won the NFC North with a 31-9 win. Jahmyr Gibbs had four touchdowns and the Lions became the ninth team in NFL history to win 15 games in a regular season.

The lions are going to rest. They have a wild card weekend off and don’t have to go on the road for the NFC playoffs. They need a week off because of all their injuries, including cornerback Terrion Arnold, who left Sunday night’s game with a foot injury. The Vikings fall all the way to No. 5. They play the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 13 during wild card weekend.

The Vikings’ season isn’t over yet. Those 1999 Titans made it to a Super Bowl as an overqualified wild-card team. But the path got a lot harder for the Vikings on Sunday night, and a lot easier for the Lions.

Both teams looked sharp to start Sunday night’s game, which was understandable. The stakes were enormous.

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Mistakes were the story of the first half. Darnold was excellent all season, but missed a lot of passes, most of them high. In one series, after a Vikings interception that put them inside the Lions’ 10-yard line, Darnold twice missed a wide-open Justin Jefferson and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal. According to ESPN, Darnold had eight turnovers in the first half, the second most in an entire game in his career.

The Lions also seemed to be under pressure. On fourth-and-inches, Detroit decided to pass instead of running behind the NFL’s best offensive line, and it was incomplete. The Vikings turned that good field position into a field goal, but were fouled again. With twenty seconds left, they kicked the ball out of bounds, giving the Lions the ball on the 40-yard line. Jared Goff hit passes of 19 and 11 yards, one of the rare times Detroit’s offense showed much explosion in the first half, and that set up a beautiful field goal as the first half expired.

The Lions led the Vikings 10-6, but neither team played like it had 14 wins on the night. For such a great match, the results in the first half were not good. The Lions at least came out on top in the second half. Not the Vikings.

Minnesota’s mistakes didn’t stop when the second half got underway.

The Vikings went for it with a fourth-and-goal in the first half, passing on an easy field goal, and did so again on their first possession of the second half. Both times, Darnold threw incomplete. That was six easy points for the Vikings to pass on in a close game. But on the next play, Goff threw wildly and Harrison Smith had an easy interception.

The Lions’ offense finally got going after a 13-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a touchdown. Unsurprisingly, the Lions went for it on fourth-and-2 and had a nice play with Gibbs getting wide open up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown. The Vikings weren’t out of the game by any means, trailing 17-9 at that point, but they weren’t done tripping over themselves.

The Vikings missed a field goal late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Vikings defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel had a pick-6 in his hands and he dropped it. A few plays later, Gibbs scored his third touchdown of the game and Detroit led 24-9.

The Vikings could win a Super Bowl via a wild card spot. If they don’t, they could look back on the huge swing that saw Van Ginkel drop an interception that could have helped tie the game, when instead they fell behind by 15 points after Gibbs’ 13-yard touchdown run .

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The Lions just had to lean on the Vikings after that. There was another big mistake. With just under six minutes left, the Lions lined up as if they were going to go for it on fourth-and-2. The Vikings jumped offsides and the Lions didn’t even have to touch the ball for a first down. Gibbs scored his fourth touchdown shortly afterwards.

The Vikings had an incredible regular season. They were not expected to play in the play-offs and won 14 games. Darnold established himself as a legitimate starting quarterback. Their defense was fantastic. The coaching staff was given honors as one of the best in the NFL. And for all the good things Minnesota has done, the reward is a trip to Los Angeles for a tough playoff opener.

LIVE DECLARATION IS OVER56 updates

  • The Lions are top seed in the NFC for 2024

  • The Lions win game No. 272 ​​to end the NFL regular season

  • After the two-minute warning, the Lions led 31-9

    Detroit becomes the No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It’s one of the oldest teams in the NFL – in business since 1930 – and has been plagued by bad luck for decades, with just two playoff wins since 1991. Now, after a full season in which it looked like the best – or one of the few best teams in the league – they look like the team to beat

  • Vikings switch to downs with just over four minutes left

    Minnesota’s bid for a division title goes out with a whimper. Sam Darnold looked like an MVP candidate to start the season. Tonight the Lions defense was spectacular. The line on Darnold tonight: 18 of 41, 166 yards, no TD passes, and the Vikings are 3 of 13 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.

  • FOUR TOUCHDOWNS FOR JAHMYR GIBBS

    Barring a spectacular turnaround, the road to the Super Bowl runs through Detroit in the NFC. Jahmyr Gibbs: 23 carries, 139 yards, three rushing touchdowns, five catches, 31 yards, one receiving touchdown.

    It’s 31-9 with 5:14 left in the game.

  • This will be the Jahmyr Gibbs game

    Forty-seven meters on this run. The Lions look like part of the best team in the NFL.

  • Al-Quadin Muhammad gets a third sack to force a punt

    The swarming Lions defense deserves every accolade they get tonight. The Vikings have less than 250 yards of total offense.

  • Vikings saved itself with another third down penalty

    It’s a first, but the Lions defense is in control. Twelve players on defense are on IR, but they completely shut down the Vikings, who have one of the more explosive passing attacks in the NFL with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

  • Jahmyr Gibbs with a hat trick in the huge Week 18 showdown

    This third TD was perhaps the best of the bunch, on a 13-yard run. Two tight ends and a fullback, and the Detroit offense has taken over after Gibbs’ 19th touchdown of the season. Lions lead 24-9 with 13:06 left in the 4th quarter.

  • Sam LaPorta opens the 4th quarter with an 11-yard pickup

    Lions receivers are wide open here in the second half now. St. Brown and Williams added receptions on the drive to the red zone. The Lions offense has been roaring on their last two drives.

  • Jahmyr Gibbs picks up 14 on a first down pass play to end the third quarter

    Jahmyr Gibbs has 22 touches for 88 yards and two touchdowns on an already big night, and he’s gaining momentum as the Lions look to seal the deal with the Vikings for the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed.

    Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

    Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions want to capture the No. 1 seed in the NFC. (AP/Rey Del Rio)

  • Will Reichard misses from 52

    The red zone failures loom BIG for the Vikings, who are in danger of sinking as the Lions take over with excellent field position.

  • Anzalone punches it away at third

    The Lions linebacker with excellent defense and a pass breakup that was intended for TJ Hockensen, and it will leave a 4th down.

  • Lions get into the end zone on the 4th TD pass

    Goff hits Jahmyr Gibbs on the option route and Gibbs sets a new single-season franchise record for touchdowns with his 18th of the year and the Lions lead 17–9.

  • The Lions are on the move

    Four first downs on this drive for the Lions, who are in the red zone and looking to increase their lead. This drive also had a 2nd and 19 that the Lions were able to recover from.

  • Another Vikings field goal by Reichard, this one from 51

    An intentional grounding penalty backed the Vikings, and they got stuck behind the sticks before getting three on Goff’s bad turnover. Detroit’s defensive line is still dominating the game, but Minnesota is also holding its own on defense and slowly deteriorating.

  • Lions injury updates

    Even more defensive injuries as DB Terrion Arnold was just carted off the sideline and taken to the locker room after being unable to put any weight on one leg. Defensive lineman Pat O’Connor is also dealing with a calf injury.

  • Goff throws down a pick first

    It’s an arm kick from Goff, but down first? The Lions went bust on a sudden change, but this is a terrible turnover by the Lions, and the Vikings will take over on their own 46.

  • Vikings switch to downs inside the 5 yard line AGAIN

    The Vikings have now run eleven plays inside the 5-yard line and have three points from those three drives. Aaron Glenn and the Lions defense put on a masterclass in short yardage in this game.

  • Jones is out of the locker room

    He made a catch on his first play of the second half to reach third and score a goal on the second.

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