Vikings fall flat on their faces in 31-9 loss to Lions in primetime
As a result, the Vikings will travel to Los Angeles next weekend for a date with the Rams on Monday Night Football.
DETROIT—Everything has suddenly gotten much harder for the Vikings.
In position to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and make sure the road to the Super Bowl went through the Twin Cities, the Vikings fell flat on their faces in a 31-9 loss to the Lions on Sunday night at Ford Field in Detroit.
As he stepped to the podium after the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell took a deep breath, then summed it up perfectly with the first sentence of his opening statement, saying, “We didn’t do a lot of the things that we’ve consistently done.”
No they did not.
t was an incredible scene in the Motor City, and the sold out crowd matched the moment with everybody from legendary running back Barry Sanders and hall of fame receiver Calvin Johnson to rap icon Eminem and his daughter Hailie Jade making an appearance.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they simply didn’t show up on offense.
The struggles on offense were highlighted by quarterback Sam Darnold looking like a shell of himself for 60 minutes. He looked uncomfortable from the onset, only managing to complete 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards, while leading an offense that went 0 for 4 in the red zone, failing to score a touchdown at any point.
“Just got to hit the throws,” Darnold said. “It really is as simple as that.”
Asked if the hostile environment affect him at all, Darnold bluntly replied, “No.”
On the other end, the Lions got everything and more out of running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who finished with 23 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding five catches for 31 yards and another touchdown
As a result, the Lions will get a valuable bye next weekend while the rest of the NFC is in action, and the Vikings will have to head to Los Angeles next weekend for a date with the Rams on Monday night.
After being forced to punt to start the game, the Lions got rolling thanks in large part to quarterback Jared Goff. It started with Goff getting himself into a rhythm by throwing a couple of completions over the middle, then he showed off his swagger when head coach Dan Campbell opted to roll the dice on fourth down.
Not only did Goff stare down a blitz from safety Josh Metellus, he hung in the pocket until the last second, then fired a pass to receiver Jameson Williams for a first down. On the very next play, Gibbs took a handoff 25 yards for a touchdown to put the Lions in front 7-0.
Though the Vikings couldn’t get going on offense, especially in the red zone, the defense settled in and kept them in the game in the early stages.
After forcing a punt following a tackle for a loss from edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel and a sack from edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings got the ball back, and Darnold immediately found receiver Justin Jefferson for a 31-yard completion.
That put the Vikings back in business, and while they appeared in position to score, Darnold sailed a pass to Jefferson in the end zone for a turnover on downs.
In need of another stop, the Vikings got exactly that, with Metellus deflecting a pass, and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. hauling in an interception. The ineffectiveness in the red zone continued, however, and the Vikings had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from kicker Will Reichard to cut the deficit to 7-3.
“If we execute in the red zone early on, I think it’s a different game,” Darnold said. “Just got to execute better.”
After the Vikings forced another turnover on downs, Darnold worked his way back into the red zone before stalling out and settling for a 31-yard field goal from Reichard to make it 7-6.
Though it looked like the Vikings had some good vibes heading into halftime, Reichard hooked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, and the Lions parlayed that into a 48-yard field goal from kicker Jake Bates to make it 10-6.
With a chance to take the lead on the opening drive out of halftime, running back Cam Akers provided a spark for the Vikings with a 58-yard run up the middle. But it was the same story for the Vikings in the red zone, as they squandered another opportunity with a turnover on downs.
“I thought we had some opportunities,” O’Connell said. “Just didn’t put the ball in the end zone at a level that we’ve been doing.”
Instead of running the ball in the shadow of their own goal post, the Lions immediately dropped back to pass, and Goff heaved a ball into the heavens while under pressure.
On the other end, safety Harrison Smith hauled in an interception to give the Vikings a major boost. A few plays later, the Vikings were forced again to settle for a 51-yard field goal from Reichard to cut the deficit to 10-9.
Eventually, the Lions were going to catch their stride, and when they finally did, they started to run away with the game.
“I thought our defense battled,” O’Connell said. “Just asked a little bit too much of them.”
The turning point came when Goff led a methodical drive that spanned seven minutes, 25 seconds before he found Gibbs for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-9. After a missed field goal by the Vikings on the other end, the Lions took complete control, as Gibbs made it a hat trick while stretching the lead to 24-9.
That paved the way for Gibbs to take a victory lap, and he capped his electrifying performance with another touchdown to help the Lions finalize the score at 31-9.
Where do the Vikings go from here? They have been a group that has continuously proved the doubters wrong this season. They will have do it once again, and the doubters will be out in full force following that abysmal effort in prime time.
“These guys continue to go back to work regardless of the outcome,” O’Connell said. “If we’re going to be any different when the results don’t go our way, that’s going to be a problem. Every single man in that locker room responded to that the way that I expected them to. I know we’ll go back to work.”