Minneapolis — At long last, the Detroit Lions can call themselves Kings of the North.
The Lions snapped a number of negative streaks Sunday at US Bank Stadium. The 30-24 victory over the Vikings was their first in Minnesota in six years, it clinched the team's first postseason berth in seven seasons and, most importantly, gave the Lions their first division crown in three decades.
BOX SCORE: Lions 30, Vikings 24
"Yeah, I'm pretty ecstatic, man," Lions coach Dan Campbell said, holding back some emotion. "This is special. Like I said, it's a special group. This is just the beginning. We feel that way. I couldn't be more proud of the guys."
Detroit (11-4) built a 10-point lead late in the first half, coughed it up early in the third quarter, stayed poised enough to respond with two, long touchdown drives, but it wasn't until safety Ifeatu Melifonwu intercepted a pass near the goal line in the closing seconds that the task at hand was complete.
The Lions won the coin toss and opted to take the ball for the second straight week after having success with the strategy against the Denver Broncos. That decision similarly paid early dividends against the Vikings as the Lions put together a methodical, 14-play touchdown drive to open the contest.
Quarterback Jared Goff was sharp on the series, completing passes to five different receivers, while running back David Montgomery churned out hard yards on the ground, including three consecutive carries at the end of the drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Detroit's lead would prove short-lived. Looking to put some pressure on Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens from the jump, the Lions sent a blitz on their first defensive snap and got burned by a delayed route by tight end Josh Oliver that gained 33 yards.
The Lions eventually appeared to have secured a stop in the red zone, only for cornerback Brian Branch to get flagged for holding on the third-down incompletion. The rookie defender compounded the issue by dropping a potential interception on the next play, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Ty Chandler that knotted thing at seven after the extra point.
A string of giveaways quickly halted the offensive momentum for both teams. The Lions coughed it up first when running back Jahmyr Gibbs lost the fumble at the end of a long run near midfield, only for the Vikings (7-8) to give it right back with with an interception on fourth down as Branch managed to come down with it this time.
Following a Vikings punt, which Branch forced by causing Mullens to fumble on a third-down blitz, the Lions were able to regain the lead with a 37-yard Michael Badgley field goal, his first of the season. That kick came immediately after the Vikings appeared to force a fumble they recovered and returned for a touchdown, but that play was overturned by replay review after it was confirmed Goff's arm was coming forward on the attempted pass.
Soon after, in the latter stages of the second quarter, the Lions would get a second interception off the arm of Mullens. On the third-down snap, the quarterback underthrew a deep ball intended for rookie receiver Jordan Addison, allowing safety Kerby Joseph to undercut it and bring the ball back to Minnesota's 33-yard line.
Three plays later, the Lions expanded their lead when Gibbs took a run heading right, hit traffic and was able to bounce outside for a 14-yard score that put the Lions up, 17-7.
The Vikings managed to cut the deficit back to three before the half leaning on superstar receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught three long passes for 77 yards during the two-minute drive, twice beating the man coverage of cornerback Cam Sutton. That included a 26-yard scoring grab with 29 seconds remaining before the break.
And Mullens went right back to work coming out of the locker room, leading a five-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that gave the Vikings their first lead of the day. The QB completed all three of his throws during the possession, including a 24-yarder to tight end T.J. Hockenson while staring down a rusher, and a well-placed deep ball to K.J. Osborn (Ypsilanti) for 47 yards two snaps later. Rewarding his receiver, Mullens went right back to Osborn for a 6-yard score the next play.
But the Lions found a counterpunch, quickly driving across midfield with a pair of first downs. Then, facing fourth-and-1, Gibbs burst through the line and looked on his way to his second touchdown only to get tripped up by the last line of defense, linebacker D.J. Wonnum, after an 18-yard pickup.
Goff would further extend the series with a successful QB sneak on a second fourth-and-1 snap, prior to finding Amon-Ra St. Brown in the back of the end zone for the go-head score. The Vikings managed to block Badgley's extra point attempt, leaving Detroit's advantage at 23-21 with a little under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Detroit grew their edge back to two scores with some complementary football. After the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense went another 14-play, touchdown march. Goff was sharp, completing 7-of-9 for 72 yards, including a 25-yard third-down conversion to St. Brown early in the possession.
St. Brown went over 100 yards on the game during the series for the seventh time this season.
Gibbs was also key on the series, touching the ball six times. That was highlighted by a short, red-zone reception where he powered through multiple tacklers to convert a third down, followed by a 3-yard touchdown run, marking his second straight game, and third this season, where he scored twice.
From there, the defense kept the Vikings on the ropes as Joseph tallied his second interception of the day, this time gobbling up an overthrow from Mullens intended for Jefferson.
Still, the decisive, knockout blow eluded the Lions. And after being forced to punt, the Vikings managed to drive for a field goal, cutting the lead to six, 30-24, with 5:19 remaining. Meanwhile, after picking up a couple of first downs, the Lions offense hurt themselves with pre-snap infractions and had to punt again after killing less than three minutes off the clock, providing Mullens and the Vikings 2:23 to complete the comeback.
After Mullens fumbled, Minnesota faced third-and-27 deep in its own territory, but Jefferson delivered a 28-yard leaping grab over two defenders to keep hopes alive.
"Before that play, I told Nick, 'No matter what it is, just throw it over (route),'" Jefferson said. "And I just have that same attitude on every single ball that’s in the air. I just want to make a play for my team, make the drive, continue to go. I know I’m a momentum-shifter on this team in the big plays that I make and the crazy catches that I make."
But after moving the ball across midfield, Mullens tried another deep ball to Jefferson near the goal line only for Melifonwu to step in front of the receiver and snag Detroit's fourth interception of the day, sealing the victory.
"Nobody got frazzled, nobody lost their cool," Campbell said. "When we needed it in the crunch times, we made plays. That's what good teams do, they find ways to win the game instead of the other way, you know? That's not an easy thing to do. But when you got the right guys who mesh together and they work for each other and they care about each other, they're accountable to each other, it makes a difference."
With the division title secured, the Lions can now push forward for the NFC's No. 2 seed. They have two games remaining, starting with a road trip to Dallas next week, followed by the season finale against the Vikings at Ford Field. If the Lions win both, at minimum, they'll earn the second seed and opportunity to potentially host two playoff games at home.
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