The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are probably the two best teams in the NFC as we enter Week 7, and the two teams went through a heavyweight fight on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Vikings lost 31-29 on Jake Bates’ 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds to play. Minnesota suffers its first loss of the season after a 5-0 start, and is now behind the Lions in the NFC North Division. The two teams meet again in Week 18.
Kevin O’Connell tried to get Will Reichard out for what would’ve been a 68-yard game-winning kick, but Christian Darrisaw was flagged for an illegal formation, not being on the line of scrimmage as they tried to spike the ball near midfield. With one second left, Darnold was sacked to end the game. For the first time in seven weeks, O’Connell was not handing out celebratory game balls.
“You can’t just enjoy the wins. We enjoy those more than anything, but championship caliber teams look inward at the first sign of adversity. We were able to do that in game, come back and get the lead. Challenge everybody to look inward and see if we can do just a little bit more,” O’Connell said. “I have a ton of confidence in our team, in our players in how we work.”
The big play
It looked like the Vikings might steal a win with a defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter. Josh Metellus and Ivan Pace Jr. gave the Vikings their first lead of the second half with 5:50 to play. Metellus forced a David Montgomery fumble, punching the ball out, and Pace scooped it up and scored for the go-ahead touchdown, sending the fans at U.S. Bank Stadium into an absolute frenzy.
It was Minnesota’s only takeaway of the game, and the defensive score came at the most critical time.
“Big moment in the game. I just finished telling the guys on special teams on the kickoff that I was about to get the ball out some way, somehow. We need it, we needed a big play,” Metellus said.
The big sequence
The Lions scored 21 second quarter points to take control after getting down 10-0 early. Jahmyr Gibbs had touchdown runs of 45 and seven yards, and Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 35-yard touchdown.
In the middle of that sequence, Sam Darnold was intercepted by Brian Branch to set up the Lions’ third touchdown. On the opposite side of the field, Aaron Jones was uncovered in the flat for what would’ve been a big gain. Darnold never looked at him, and was locked in on Jordan Addison.
“Obviously can’t let that happen. Branch made a really good play,” Darnold said.
“Sam had Jordan flash to him and Branch did a nice job of being in the area to jump that throw. Sam made so many good decisions today, they got us on that one,” O’Connell said.
Vikings score first 10 points
Dan Campbell is known for taking chances on fourth down with the Lions, and he did not waste any time Sunday. On Detroit’s first offensive series, he opted for a fake punt on 4th-and-7 from his own 33-yard line. Brian Asamoah and Josh Metellus were not fooled, and made the stop for a turnover on downs.
Two plays later, Aaron Jones scored from 34 yards out untouched to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Reichard added a field goal, the first of three on the day, for a 10-0 lead.
No slowing Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs
Jared Goff was tremendous Sunday. He finished 22-of-25 passing for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He also got them into field goal range for Bates’ game-winner. Jahmyr Gibbs had 15 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
What’s next
The Vikings travel to the L.A. Rams for Thursday Night Football. The key now is to bounce back quickly on a short week.
“Just kind of guys we have in that locker room. We haven’t batted an eye all year, no matter what the circumstance is. So we’re just going to continue to put our heads down, be resilient and play consistent football,” Darnold said.