Lions beat Vikings, clinch NFC’s No. 1 seed: Live updates and reaction from NFL ‘Sunday Night Football’ (original) (raw)
Lions top Vikings in massive showdown
The Lions defeated the Vikings 31-9 in the final game of the regular season, clinching the NFC North division title and securing the conference's No. 1 seed, giving them a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
While Detroit rests next weekend, Minnesota will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in the wild-card round. That game will take place on Monday, Jan. 13 at 8pm ET.
Jahmyr Gibbs led the Lions’ offense tonight, racking up 170 total scrimmage yards and scoring four touchdowns, both career highs for the second-year running back.
Neither quarterback played particularly well, but Sam Darnold struggled the most, going 18-for-41 for 166 yards and no touchdowns. Facing Detroit's aggressive defense, he set a season low in both completions and passing yards.
How will Vikings bounce back?
The Vikings faced adversity this season when they lost in back-to-back games to the Lions and Rams in Week 7 and Week 8. They responded with nine straight victories.
This degree of difficulty will be extreme, though. Rather than earning a bye and playing at U.S. Bank Stadium in the playoffs, the Vikings must travel to Los Angeles — a team that beat them 30-20 in Week 8 — and play Monday night in the wild-card round against the Rams. Because they’re the No. 5 seed, they’re then likely to have to go on the road elsewhere, if they are to win.
Darnold dulled by blitzing Lions
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Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold entered Sunday night’s game on a high. For seven weeks in a row, he had lifted Minnesota’s offense to unforeseen heights. He had been accurate. He had made quick decisions. And he had thrown for 18 touchdowns and two interceptions over that span.
That sharpness did not translate to the biggest stage, as Darnold struggled mightily in Detroit against a blitz-happy Lions team.
Darnold missed throws in the red zone and over the middle. Minnesota reached the red zone four times in the first three quarters and only scored six points. Darnold sailed a pass to Justin Jefferson and missed an open Jordan Addison. His feet bounced around constantly, and his reactions made it seem like he was not seeing the field clearly.
He finished 18-of-41 passing for 166 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions. There was, however, a turnover-worthy play in the red zone, a pass nearly picked off by Lions cornerback Amik Robertson. The Vikings’ offensive line’s inability to pick up pressure did Darnold no favors, but in the end, the Vikings’ operation looked too shaky in what would have been a massive victory with the NFC North and No. 1 seed on the line.
The game of Gibbs’ life
Jahmyr Gibbs had the game of his life, just when the Lions needed it most.
Playing shorthanded without his running mate David Montgomery for the last few weeks, Gibbs has been nothing short of remarkable with 150 scrimmage yards each of the last two weeks. But he saved his best for last, capping off the regular season with 170 scrimmage yards and a career-high four touchdowns, leading the Lions to a well-deserved victory.
In the process, he set a franchise record for touchdowns in a season with 20, and is now north of 1,900 scrimmage yards on the season. For all the backlash the Lions received when they selected Gibbs 12th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, he’s been a force multiplier for Johnson’s offense. The Lions miss Montgomery and will hold out hope for a return, but as long as they have Gibbs, this offense and all of its weapons will be hard to stop in the playoffs.
Minnesota’s defense gave them a chance
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Brian Flores’ Vikings defense limited the Lions to 10 points in the first half. It gave the Vikings enough chances — three first-half red zone trips, to be exact — but the dam broke in the second half. Gibbs, specifically, torched the Vikings in the second half. He scored four times and notched 170 yards from scrimmage. His speed and versatility wore down a Vikings defense full of veterans.
Minnesota turned Goff over twice. In the first half, defensive back Josh Metellus tipped a pass, and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. snagged it. In the second half, Goff launched a deep ball that was caught impressively by safety Harrison Smith. The two extra possessions did not matter in the end. Flores’ defense hung on as long as it could, but the further the score extended, the tougher it became for the defense not to tire out.
One of the best Lions wins in recent history
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There’s no understating how massive this win was for Detroit. It is among Campbell’s best as a head coach. Campbell, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson deserve a ton of credit for how they’ve kept this group together and hunkered down for a win in their biggest game of the season.
A loss would’ve made them the first-ever 14-win wild-card team, forced to travel to the West Coast to face old friend Matthew Stafford and the Rams to begin the playoffs as the No. 5 seed. Instead, they’ve earned home-field advantage in the NFC and some much-needed rest.
Ford Field was downright hostile Sunday evening, so good luck to teams traveling here for a road game. And with so many injuries — including at least two more to defensive tackle Pat O’Connor and CB Terrion Arnold — the Lions will need all the extra time they can get. But that’s a topic for another day. On this night, the Lions took care of business. They’ve won their second consecutive NFC North title. The No. 1 seed is theirs. And now, we wait.
Darnold's worst game of season comes at worst possible moment
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Sam Darnold's hot streak in recent weeks came to a screeching halt tonight. Usually saying a player looked like a vintage version of themself is a compliment, but not with Darnold, who was a bust with the Jets and Panthers before reviving his career in Minnesota.
Darnold did not have a completion percentage worse than 60 this season before tonight, when he completed just 43.9 percent of his passes. His 166 pass yards are also a season low. Darnold simply never looked comfortable like he so often has while leading the Vikings to 14 wins this year. His performance in Minnesota's loss to the Lions is a stunning turnaround from a week ago, when Darnold went 33-for-43 passing for 377 yards and three touchdowns, setting season highs in completions and yards.
How far Minnesota goes in the playoffs will largely depend on which version of Darnold shows up, starting next week against the Rams.
Terrion Arnold injury update
Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold said he’s waiting on X-rays after suffering a foot injury in tonight's game. He doesn’t know the severity of it yet, but said he’s going to do everything in his power and put it in God’s hands to be able to return. “I’m tryna get right, be out there with my boys.”
Jahmyr Gibbs has most total TDs in NFL
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Here's the list of NFL players to score 20 or more touchdowns in the 2024 regular season:
- Jahmyr Gibbs
Even more amazing, a fifth of those touchdowns came tonight, as Gibbs reached the end zone a career-high four times for the Lions. The 2023 first-round pick is embracing his role as the Lions' featured back after David Montgomery went down with a knee injury late in the season. Montgomery may return during the playoffs, though his timetable is uncertain.
Uneven MIN-DET offense gives Ja'Marr Chase NFL WR triple crown
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase likely had the NFL wide receiver tiple crown (receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns) sealed up heading into tonight. But he needed to stave off potentially massive performances from Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Vikings wideout — and Chase's former LSU teammate — Justin Jefferson to be sure.
St. Brown came into the game second in NFL receptions behind Chase with 109 catches on the season. Jefferson was second in receiving yards with 1,479. Each would need a generational performance to pass Chase in those respective categories, and neither got it. St. Brown had 6 catches for 77 yards while Jefferson had just three catches for 54 yards.
That makes Chase, with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, the NFL wide receiver triple crown winner. It's a remarkable and deserved accomplishment after an incredible season where Chase and Joe Burrow did all they could to drag a flawed Bengals team to the playoffs but fell just short.
Did Dan Campbell shade multiple teams in postgame comment?
Dan Campbell's message to Kevin O'Connell was picked up loud and clear by the NBC broadcast: "We'll see you in two weeks."
That's not exactly a given, even if the Vikings beat the Rams in Los Angeles in the wild-card round. For Minnesota to return to top-seeded Detroit, they'd need to be the lowest seed remaining in the NFC. That will only happen if the No. 7 Packers lose to the No. 2 Eagles and the No. 6 Commanders lose to the No. 3 Buccaneers.
Neither of those outcomes are a given. The Packers were the No. 7 seed in the playoffs last year and stunned that season's NFC East champion, the Cowboys, at AT&T Stadium. The Commanders lost to the Bucs in Week 1 of this season, but they're a much more confident squad heading into the rematch behind NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jayden Daniels.
Campbell likely didn't intend his words to O'Connell to be a slight to any other team. But it could be fuel for the Rams, Commanders and Packers heading into next week.
Amik Robertson shuts down old rival Justin Jefferson
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Amik Robertson has been facing off against Justin Jefferson since the two were high schoolers in Louisiana. Tonight, Robertson got the better of Jefferson. The Lions cornerback limited the superstar Vikings wide receiver to just three receptions for 54 yards on seven targets across 35 routes run, per NFL Next Gen Stats (h/t The 33rd Team on X).
Goff praises Williams
Jared Goff on Jameson Williams getting his first 1,000-yard season: "I'm so proud of him man. He's come such a long way."
Detroit's defensive masterpiece by the numbers
NFL Next Gen Stats
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores gets a lot of well-deserved credit for his aggressiveness and play designs, but it was his Detroit counterpart Aaron Glenn who stole the show tonight.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Lions defense played man coverage on 66.7 percent of Sam Darnold's dropbacks to pass, the 2nd-highest rate by any NFL defense in a game this season.
It worked — Darnold finished 10 of 28 for 125 yards against man coverage, while completing only 1 of 9 attempts on dropbacks over four seconds.
The Lions also played more Cover 0 — where the entire defense is in man coverage — more than any other defense in a game this season (14 times) while allowing just five completions to Darnold against that look, per Next Gen Stats. The Lions also blitzed Darnold on over half of his dropbacks in both meetings this season, including 55.6 percent in Week 18.
One thing is clear after tonight
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Dan Campbell and Kevin O'Connell should be No. 1 and No. 2 in NFL Coach of the Year voting this year.
Alex Anzalone comes up huge for Lions in return
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It was unclear coming into today whether Anzalone would make his return from a fractured forearm that the Lions linebacker suffered in Week 11.
But Anzalone not only returned, he excelled back in his role as one of Dan Campbell's energetic leaders on that side of the ball. Anzalone limited linebacker T.J. Hockenson to just two catches for nine yards on eight targets tonight. He also recorded a team-high seven total tackles.
The Lions' defense is still severely shorthanded, but their Super Bowl hopes are still very much alive if they can get a few more of those key pieces back like Anzalone.
How Lions' win impacts coaching carousel
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Since the Lions have a bye, interested teams can virtually interview Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for head coach openings as soon as this week.
Mind-boggling Vikings stat
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If the Vikings lose to the Rams next week, they'd be 0-4 vs. the Lions and Rams this year — and 14-0 vs. every other team.
Jameson Williams hits 1,000 receiving yards in first full season
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It's been a roller coaster of an NFL career for Jameson Williams since the Lions traded up to pick him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Williams missed most of his rookie season due to a torn ACL suffered in his final college football game, Alabama's 2022 College Football Playoff title game loss to Georgia.
Then, Williams was suspended six games in 2023 for violating the NFL's gambling policy the previous offseason.
But a late fourth-quarter catch from Williams secured his first career season with at least 1,000 yards receiving. Williams did miss some time this year, but still played in a career-high 15 of the Lions' 17 games.
Gut punch of a loss for Vikings
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A brutal night for Minnesota. The offense never had it. Sam Darnold looked off early. Detroit's blitz seemed like a problem. The defense did the job early but could only hang on so long. Kicker Will Reichard gave the Lions extra opportunities. To L.A. they go to face the Rams in the wild-card round finale on Monday night.