Detroit — In the Detroit Lions’ biggest December home game since 2017, and in front of a sellout crowd at Ford Field, the team denied the Minnesota Vikings a chance to claim the NFC North crown, while bolstering their own playoff hopes.
The Lions received critical contributions in all three phases to knock off the division-leading Vikings, getting revenge for a loss earlier in the season. Quarterback Jared Goff threw a pair of long touchdown passes, the defense forced a turnover in the red zone, and a successful fake punt fueled the 34-23 victory on Sunday, which was sealed with a pass to offensive tackle Penei Sewell in the closing minutes.
BOX SCORE: Lions 34, Vikings 23
The win was Detroit’s fifth in the past six games, improving the team to 6-7 on the year. In the NFC playoff race, they gained a game on the New York Giants (7-5-1), who were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles. It marked the seventh time the Lions scored at least 30 points in a game this season.
The game was a back-and-forth struggle until Detroit slammed the door shut in the second half with a pair of long touchdown drives.
After coming away with points each of their first eight possessions last week, the Lions went three-and-out to open this contest, but still managed to open the scoring when the defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield and the offense quickly capitalized on the favorable field position.
On the second snap of the second series, Jameson Williams came wide open on a run fake and Goff put the ball on the rookie wide receiver for the first reception of his career, a 41-yard touchdown.
The Vikings responded behind steady contributions from their star players. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook combined for 51 yards and four first downs on the ensuing drive with Cook punching it across the goal line from a yard out for the tying score.
Following an offensive lull, where the Lions failed a fourth-down attempt and the two sides trades punts, Detroit came up with another quick strike to regain the lead.
Return man Kalif Raymond kickstarted things by bringing a punt back 35 yards into Vikings territory before Goff delivered a perfect deep ball to DJ Chark on the first play of the possession for a 48-yard touchdown. It marked the first time since 2018 that Goff threw two touchdowns passes of 40 or more yards in a game.
Again, Minnesota looked poised to counterpunch, driving deep into Lions territory thanks to a pair of third-down-converting passes by Kirk Cousins to tight end T.J. Hockenson and Jefferson. Cousins found Jefferson for another 20 yards into the red zone, but on first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Cook had the ball knocked loose by defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs, and rookie safety Kerby Joseph recovered the fumble with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
The Lions had a chance to extend the lead to 10 before the break, but kicker Michael Badgley, the NFC’s reigning special teams player of the week, missed a 47-yard field goal wide left. It was only his second miss since joining the Lions in October.
The Vikings couldn’t get anything going to open the third quarter and the Lions also looked prepared to punt with their first try, but safety CJ Moore took a direct snap on a fake, running for 42 yards for the conversion.
With new life, Goff completed his next four passes, including a key third-and-12 throw to Raymond in the red zone, setting up a 5-yard touchdown toss to Reynolds on the next snap. That put the Lions up 21-7.
Goff finished the game 27-of-39 for 330 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Six different Lions caught multiple passes with Chark pacing the team with six grabs for 94 yards and the long touchdown.
Still, the Vikings refused to go quietly. Despite eating a sack on the first play of the drive, Cousins recovered with a 21-yard dart to Hockenson across the middle, followed by a 42-yarder to Jefferson. The Lions defense settled down after the big gain, forcing the Vikings into a fourth down, but needing touchdowns not field goals, the opposition went for it.
Picking up Detroit’s blitz, Cousins found Adam Thielen down the left sideline. From there, the receiver dodged Mike Hughes’ tackle attempt, scooting into the end zone for a 23-yard score. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the deficit at eight, 21-13, heading into the fourth quarter.
But even as the pressure ramped up, Goff remained calm and collected, completing first down passes to four different receivers, leading the Lions back into the red zone. Then, on second-and-10, running back Justin Jackson picked up a huge block from tight end Brock Wright and won a foot race to the left edge of the formation before diving into the pylon, putting the Lions back up two scores following the extra point, 28-13, with 13:28 remaining.
Cousins and Jefferson came back swinging with a 47-yard connection to open Minnesota’s next possession, but the threat was ended by rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who sacked Cousins on first down and hit the quarterback again on third down, forcing an incompletion. That left the Vikings little choice but to settle for a 41-yard Greg Joseph field goal, which sliced the lead to 12.
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The Lions fell short of scoring a third straight touchdown, but did the next best thing, draining nearly seven minutes off the clock before Badgley knocked home a 41-yard field goal, making it 31-16 with 4:06 to go.
Minnesota did what it needed to stay alive after Badgley’s kick, racing 75 yards in 76 seconds. A 39-yard pass to Jefferson was the key play, leading to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to K.J. Osborn (Ypsilanti). But hopes were dimmed when Lions linebacker Josh Woods recovered the ensuing onside kick.
From there, the Lions were able to run out the clock with a little razzle dazzle. With the Vikings in position to get one more crack at tying the game, Sewell reported as eligible and caught a third-down pass for a first down.
Badgley added a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining to salt away the victory.
Following the victory, the Lions head on the road for the first time in a month to face the upstart New York Jets, who fell to 7-6 on the season with a 20-12 loss to Buffalo on Sunday.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers