The Lions beat the Vikings 30–24, but injuries and interceptions hurt their hopes of making the playoffs.
With 1:48 left in the game, Justin Jefferson ran 20 yards in three seconds and dove on a Nick Mullens fumble that would have sealed the Vikings’ loss to the Lions.
When they were getting ready for another play, Jefferson ordered Mullens, “Just throw it over, regardless of what it is.”
It was the same thing Kirk Cousins did a year ago in Buffalo, while Jefferson easily stole the ball from two Lions players for a 28-yard gain on third-and-27. It was like a fifth-grader stealing a playground ball from an older kindergartener.
The Vikings were down six points and had the ball 30 yards via the end zone. Jefferson made a double slide on Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu along with broke for the opening.
It looked like Jefferson might catch the pass, making Mullens the fourth different quarterback this season to start a Vikings win.
In the 56 days while Cousins tore the muscle in his right Achilles tendon, it had felt like the Vikings were holding the steering wheel in a car with mismatched tires in place so that it wouldn’t go off the road.
Joshua Dobbs’s first snaps as a Viking were walked through by coach Kevin O’Connell. After practice on Fridays, assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski stayed upon the field for hours to do walkthroughs with the new players.
The Vikings took Dobbs out in favor of Mullens on the same day that defensive head coach Brian Flores led a team who scored 63 points the next day to a shutout.
Mullens threw a pass behind Jefferson at the end of the Vikings’ 30-24 loss against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Jefferson tried to cut back on it, but Melifonwu caught it, it was the Lions’ fourth interception in the day.
The Vikings had won their last six games against Detroit in the U.S. The Lions won their first division title since 1993, when they won the prior NFC Central.
Before Mullens struck Brandon Powell to feed 26 on the next play, he gave the ball to an official.
Because the Vikings won at Bank Stadium, their game against the Green Wave on New Year’s Eve will be their last home encounter of the season. For weeks, they had been able to avoid going down that road.
In order to make the playoffs, their will need to catch up to either the Saints or the Seahawks in the NFC ranks.
This will most likely be done by beating Green Bay and Detroit twice while Los Angeles as well Seattle only loses once.
Since Cousins got hurt, they’ve gone 3-4 with backup quarterbacks. On Sunday, Cousins went back to the bench with his teammates for his first match since his surgery, since he was no longer wearing a walking boot.
The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 30–24 on Sunday to win their first division title in 30 years.
Jahmyr Gibbs scored two touchdowns on the ground, Amon-Ra St. Brown had 106 receiving yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, and Gibbs ran for two touchdowns.
With 49 seconds left in the game, Ifeatu Melifonwu picked on Nick Mullens at the five-yard line. It was Detroit’s fourth interception of the game.
It was an off-target pass to an open receiver. Finally, Justin Jefferson made three plays after his high catch in double coverage upon third-and-27 kept the last-second drive going.
The Lions (11-4) had another great game from one of the NFL’s best teams. Jared Goff threw for 257 yards without turning the ball over, and David Montgomery scored a touchdown on the ground.
For the inaugural time in 22 years, Detroit will host a playoff game at Ford Field. Soon, an NFC North winners banner will hang there. The previous one was for 1993, when they won the NFC Central.
At the end of the first half, Jefferson caught a deep pass for 26 yards, giving the Vikings a 21-17 lead.
Early within the third quarter, Osborn caught a pass from Mullens for 6 yards, one play after Osborn caught a pass from Mullens for 47 yards.
But, just like the week before, when they lost in overtime at Cincinnati, the mistakes were a big reason why they lost.
The Lions got the ball onto the Minnesota 33-yard line in the second quarter after Kerby Joseph picked him off for the first of two times. They went to the end zone in three plays.