An NFC North rivalry certainly lived up to all the expectations in Minnesota on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions offense continued its dominance, although they sweated out a 31-29 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The home team got off to a 10-0 start in front of their home crowd – two plays after the Lions failed a fake punt, Aaron Jones ran for a 34-yard touchdown. On their next drive, they kicked a 57-yard field goal.
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But Detroit put up 21 points in the second quarter thanks to 45- and eight-yard rushing scores by Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jared Goff finding Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 35-yard touchdown.
Halftime was surely beneficial for Minnesota, as they came out with a touchdown drive – Sam Darnold found Justin Jefferson for a 25-yard score to make it a 21-17 game. But, Goff threw his third touchdown of the game, this one to Khalif Raymond for 21 yards to go back up 11 points.
After the Vikings kicked a field goal to make it a one-possession game, they forced a Lions punt, but after Darnold was sacked on 3rd and 7, they had no choice but to kick another field goal, and they trailed 28-23 with just over six minutes to go.
But the defense stepped up in a big way, as David Montgomery fumbled, and it was recovered and taken to the house by Ivan Pace Jr. – their two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but they had a 29-28 lead. Their defense continued its dominance on the next drive, sacking Goff for a loss of 16 on third down, forcing a punt with just over four minutes to go.
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The Detroit defense, though, forced a three-and-out, and they were able to drive down the field and end the drive with a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left. The Vikings tried for a last-second comeback, but Darnold was sacked on the final play, giving the Lions a victory.
Goff completed 22 of hs 25 passes for 280 yards, while St. Brown led the way with eight catches for 112 yards and the aforementioned score. Gibbs ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
It’s the Vikings’ first loss of the season, and both teams are now 5-1. Detroit, though, now has the tiebreaker to lead the division.
Detroit sure looks to become 6-1 next week when they host the Tennessee Titans, while Minnesota will head to Los Angeles to face the Rams this Thursday.
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